Thanks
by The-Asgardian-Writer
Summary: *SPOILERS* After agreeing to work with Chloe Frazer to find the Tusk of Ganesh and having to deal with an old partner/ex-boyfriend from years before on their tails, we follow Nadine Ross in her point-of-view of Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. Though, she has a problem...one of the Drake Brothers are back and she didn't know until the last minute that she has to deal with him.
1. Chapter 1: The Insurgency

**(A/N): And here it is! Now let me explain here! Honestly, I'm actually not shipping them, I just wanted to try out this idea because a good handful of people flipped out when *SPOILER* Sam jumped for Nadine to save her from a bullet and it was a huge shot of just them kind of chilling there and Nadine hasn't yelled at him to get off yet and Sam's just like, (0_0). So, everyone was like, "Be a couple now." *END OF SPOILER* Hope you all enjoy something other than Frozen, Thor, and/or Rise of the Guardians! XD**

"What's taking her so long? It's passed eight!" I furiously muttered to my phone as I checked the time. I shoved it back into my pocket and focused back on the Rebel Soldiers in my binoculars. There were four soldiers guarding the entrance to the building of where my adversary studied my next clue of treasure: The Disc of Ganesh.

Suddenly, out of the right side of my binoculars, headlights shined through the glass and gained my attention. It's the man that I've been hunting for weeks and was even stupid enough to fall for his charm once before; Asav. He stepped out the truck all high and mighty as if he was winning the war I stood in. My blood began to boil, but I knew it just wasn't the right moment to finish my problems with him just yet. While I was so focused with Asav, I didn't realize one of his soldiers was beginning to talk into a radio until the last second.

"Night shift. Change your posts." Announced the soldier.

"Damnit." I muttered before grabbing hold of my phone to text Chloe Frazer, my partner during this job.

Chloe Frazer had called me to join her on this job to find the Tusk of Ganesh. She had promised me fifty percent on the Tusk and I accepted her offer.

 **Unknown:** Shift changed

 **Unknown:** Forget the roof!

Once I sent her out a text, I already heard the rooftop door open and I dashed behind a wall nearby. Though, it wasn't too long until I found Chloe throwing herself around the three men that had stepped outside. Already expecting the performance, it didn't look like she could handle them herself, so I finally took charge and dived right into the fight. Chloe had already taken out two soldiers, but the last had her in a chokehold. I didn't want to already have a bloody fist since I already had enough scars climbing the buildings. I took a leap and kicked the soldier right in his face, instantly taking him out.

I turned to Chloe, somewhat pleased to know she could mostly handle herself during the job. "You're late, Frazer!" I spat.

"Nice to see you too!" She replied as if that fight was a breeze to her.

We both heard footsteps behind me before I even had the time to realize what I was already running for behind me.

"Holy shit, they took out the first squad!" One of the three soldiers that stepped outside, shouted.

I guess I wasn't fully focused on the problem at hand and had myself punched in the face by one of them. I was taken aback and finally had the urge to take a swing again. I dropped to my knees and threw my leg under the soldier's feet, knocking him down. Before he could even get back up to recover, I was already on top of him and took a swing to his face. I hurried back to my feet, but another soldier grabbed me by the shoulders and shoved me away. I almost landed on my rear-end, but I regained my balance and dodged a swing at the last second. I took another leap and kicked the soldier in the chest. He staggers back, giving me the opportunity to punch him right in the face.

I heard Chloe still struggling with the last one and came for her aid. The soldier had knocked her down and was so happy he did, he didn't realize my own fist hurdling towards his cheek. The second I made contact, he was knocked out within it. Even though she fought on a decent level, she still alarmed the Rebels.

I looked back at her. "What the hell was that?" I questioned before taking a break. "I thought you were a professional?"

"Oh, you should relax. You'll live longer." Chloe teased while rolling her eyes; she took a few steps around me.

"Relax?" I repeated as I followed to where she was heading to. "It took me weeks to track down Asav. The man's as unpredictable as they come."

"He's just another warmonger with no war to fight."

"No, you don't know him like I do. He changes location and routines by the hour. We'll be foolish to take unnecessary risks!" I began to shout. I felt my blood beginning to boil once more. Chloe is a reckless woman that was about to put me in another dangerous situation that I always accept because apparently, I'm a treasure hunter deep down inside just like herself, but she was wearing the occupation like a badge on her chest.

"We?" Chloe cuts though and by then I had finally hit a nerve. "Let's get one thing straight. This is my gig. You want your share, _we_ play by my rules."

She walks away to look through the Pink Lotus sign. At that point, Chloe had me at the point that made me start to think was this job even worth the stress. The only knowledge she had apparently was the story of Ganesh and how to avoid problems she created. I guess I was in my mind for too long and she grabbed my attention again.

"What's it gonna be?" She asked.

 _If you backstab me anytime during this damn job, a bullet will be flying through your head before you can even make a run with your treasure_ , I thought for a moment before walking towards her. Though, someone else had came into mind and his name kept echoing into my head as if I still longed for him; Asav. Therefore, I'm here and therefore I accepted her offer.

I pulled out my binoculars. "He's the one with the beard." I said before handing them to Chloe.

She returns a small smile. "That's the spirit." Chloe replied, then she takes in the face of Asav.

"Hm…" Chloe continued. "Handsome."

 _Ugh_ , I thought. "If you're into psychopaths."

"Nobody's perfect."

For some reason, the word "handsome" had bothered me and I didn't even have the guts to glance at Asav; I needed to grab the sign.

"Where's base camp?" Chloe asked.

"Top floor. Balcony."

I glanced at her and shook my head, staring at what was taking their sweet time.

"All right." She says. "Let's do this."

 **(A/N): Hoped you liked it! Comment and Review!**


	2. Chapter 2: Infiltration

**(A/N): What?! Second chapter already? Yeah, I'm pretty cool. ;D**

After having to climb around buildings and once again avoid death, we had finally made it under our targeted location. Throughout that whole climb though, I came to realize Chloe is a talkative partner during a job. It made me suddenly think of the Drake Brothers, dead, and maybe somewhere in a ditch that I threw their lifeless bodies in. Nathan Drake wasn't much of a bother when putting up a fight and taking it seriously. When he had the chance, he would just… _talk_. It was irritating and that's what made me what to blow his mouth off even more after he killed most of my Shoreline men. Then, Sam Drake. Less talkative unless he needed to pass some time for his brother, but he kept the fight realistic. Though after his attempt to blast my head open, I wouldn't mind doing the same thing to him.

Though, something about Sam Drake kept me on the grudge I had with the brothers since the last time I saw him. What kept him boiling had me intrigued of what could easy break his nerves. Still to this day, I don't know if the brothers and Rafe survived Henry Avery's burning, wrecked ship and honestly, I don't care. Though, if they did survive and I find them in eye view, I bullet will be shot.

"It's just above us." I say as Chloe began to climb the building.

"See? That wasn't so bad." Chloe teased. I gave her a look. "It wasn't!"

I followed her and began to climb until we made it to the door in the balcony. Chloe started to take charge again and started to lockpick the door's lock.

"This will just take a moment." She says.

Sadly, it took longer than a moment, so I broke the glass window instead.

Chloe jumps back to avoid the spray of glass. "…Or that works."

I rolled my eyes as I unlocked the door and let us in. "Let's find that disc."

During that entire time being with Asav, I never knew how much he had collected until I walked into his office. It was like walking into an antique shop. There were maybe over a hundred sculptures, plates, jars, and pottery to choose from and sell for quite some bucks. Then after staring at everything for a little too long, I noticed they were Indian artifacts.

"Doesn't it bother you? These are all Indian artifacts." I said as Chloe walked up beside me look at something.

"…It's not my fight." She replied.

"Hm."

We continued our search for the disc until I spotted a locked box on a desk.

"Frazer."

"Um-hmm?"

"C'mere."

Chloe notices the box. "That looks promising."

"It's locked."

"Not for long." Chloe says before a quick smile as she walked over to lockpick it. Before she come over, she was looking at some map I couldn't identify.

"What was that map?" I asked.

"Western Ghats, Hoysala Territory." She answered.

 _Damnit, Asav already knows where to start_ , I thought. "Shit…" I sighed.

"No, it's all right. Nothing we didn't already know."

After that little talk, an actual moment later, Chloe had the box unlocked, and the disc was right inside. Though, we weren't alone anymore and heard a Rebel's voice outside the office room door.

"Shit. Time to go!" I say, but was I was still ready to put up a fight if needed to as the door slammed open. Three soldiers ran in with rifles and I was already ready to jump out the window behind us, but some else had stepped into the room and made me freeze where I stood; Asav.

"…Nadine…Ross." Asav firstly says and my body began to ache. "What a pleasant surprise.

A soldier takes a step. "Ah, ah, careful brothers." He continued. "This tiger's got claws."

"Asav."

"All these years…and you haven't aged a day."

"You're too kind."

Asav chuckles as he continued his staring and heavy steps near me. I felt disgusted with no regret of leaving him. "Are you looking for work?" He asked. "I hear that Shoreline's under new management."

Chloe didn't turn out to be the one who will break a nerve. Asav had brought up something I had to keep in my throat, pretend it wasn't something that was pissing me off every day.

After dealing with the Drake Brothers and Rafe, my men of Shoreline decided I wasn't best fit to be their leader and kicked me out of my own territory. I couldn't stand it. I worked so hard to put that men of amazing skill together and all I get back is disrespect.

"Temporary setback. Nothing I can't handle." I replied.

"Of course. Of course. Pity though. My men and I can use someone of your caliber."

I hesitated, and I guess it was on my face as well while Asav turned to look at me and noticed. Though, I think he realized I didn't have any men and wasn't asking for any work, so that means I really don't have a reason to be here.

Asav quickly took a few steps in front of me and I now remembered how tall he was, and I felt I shortened in size. "Why are you here?" He questioned. "And this…this isn't your area of expertise." Asav continued as he raised his hand towards his artifacts.

"It is a nice collection I must say." Chloe interrupted and started introducing herself. Asav only stared before calling her a thief and focused back on me in disappointment.

"You're working for a thief?" He asked.

Suddenly, an occurrence had happened over the radio and one of the soldiers took Asav's attention away from me with a scoff. After responding, he went straight to the point.

"The disc." He says to Chloe.

"Oh, right, about that." She responds. "At first, I mistook you for just…an average…rebel."

 _What the hell is she trying to get at_ , I thought.

"Oh."

"But, you have managed to find the Hoysala Empire. That's not bad." Chloe continued. "Their greatest treasure-the Tusk of Ganesh? Now that's not an easy find."

"We're close."

"You're lost and the only chance you have narrowing down its location is to find someone who can help you…" Chloe pulls out the disc. "…Crack…this artifact."

Then, Asav goes on about an expert who could help him find this treasure, Chloe tries to partner up with him while I'm standing right there and suddenly she had Asav command his soldiers to kill us. After finally realizing what Chloe had done, she had already kicked the desk with the lamp and box, bursting the lamp into flames. Since we both had the same plan to try to stay alive while we still can, I helped her add a few more before dashing for and out the window.

 **(A/N): Comment and Review!**


	3. Chapter 3: The Western Ghats

**(A/N): Next chapter!**

After running for our lives from Asav and his men trying to blast us off the buildings last night, we escaped, and Chloe and I headed for the Western Ghats the very next morning. Though, something kept bugging me as we were heading for our boat while I kept staring at the _Google_ logo on my phone. I wanted to search about something, but I couldn't picture my question.

"So, what's so interesting about the _Google_ logo?" Chloe asked as we were sitting in a back of a car with one of my last trusting men driving us. I glanced at her then back at my phone.

"There is something I want to research about, but it seems my mind wants to cloud what it is."

"Well, that could be anything." Chloe says before reaching over to tap the screen to bring up the keyboard. "Just type something that you're thinking about right now. Maybe it will help you jog your memory."

"The Tusk and Asav. That's pretty much what I'm thinking about."

"Geez, not me at all and I'm sitting right here too."

"I already researched your reputation."

"Well…I'm honored."

 _I see why her, and the Drake Brothers are so…_ , I thought before finally realizing what I wanted to research. _Why the hell do I want to know if they survived. Why should I care?_

I searched the Drake Brothers up anyway and find out that they made it out alive with enough treasure to last for the rest of their days.

"The Drake Brothers? Why them?" Chloe asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't know myself, but I didn't know they were still alive after I tried to burn them alive with my last partner."

"Woah, okay. Fire is your specialty, got it." Chloe says, making me laugh again. "…So, which one of the brothers angered you the most?"

I made a face at her. "What type of question is that?"

"Well, there is two of them, so I just thought one-"

"There is no difference between them. I despise them both. They tried to kill me plenty of times before, so they both have equal reasons why I want them dead."

"Well…okay."

There was a pause and I already knew Chloe wanted to continue talking about it.

"…I just want to know…" Chloe continued, making me roll my eyes while locking my phone and sliding it into my pocket. "Who would you kill first?"

"Why is that a big deal?"

"Just answer the question."

"I don't know…Samuel?"

Chloe tried to hide her grin by biting down on her bottom lip, but I was obviously able to see it. "…Why?" She asked.

"He put the head of a pistol against my temple, threating to kill me. And, what was more stupid of him was that he was willing to risk him and his brother's life just to do it!"

"There we go. Question answered."

I rolled my eyes another time. "Can you end it now?" I asked as calmly as I could.

"If you want to. Honestly, I don't want to."

I ignored Chloe and continued thinking about that day. _He was willing to take a bullet just to kill me. Risk the life of his own brother…just to kill me. I would love to see them dead, but at least I would know not to take that chance_ , I thought.

 **"** **Rafe, this guy's on edge." I pointed out to my partner, becoming a little anxious that I wasn't going to avoid the bullet in time if I tried to take a swing for any part of Sam's body.**

 **"** **Oh, don't worry about him, Nadine. These guys don't kill anyone in cold blood. It's just not their style." Rafe responded with his own pistol aimed at Sam's forehead.**

 **"** **You willing to bet her life on that?" Sam spat, closing the space between my temple and the head of the pistol.**

 **"** **Go ahead then. Shoot her."**

 **"** **Sam-"**

 **"** **I die, you both die." I said, helping Nathan get into Sam's head.**

 **"** **So be it." Sam retorted.**

* * *

We were about an hour out from where we'll begin our search of anything that could get us any closer to the Tusk of Ganesh. I thought going by boat would have been the fastest and the most discreet way of getting there until we needed to use the car that was waiting for us on land. I stepped back into the room where Chloe was examining the Disc of Ganesh.

"How we going out there?" Chloe asked with no attention on me.

"On schedule. Should hit land in about an hour." I answered.

"Great."

"…Any luck?"

"I don't need luck."

I scoffed. _After what we have been though in only some hours_ , I thought. "I'd say we can use all the luck we can get."

Suddenly, after Chloe brought up the argument about planning to sell me out to Asav last night, she cracks the Disc of Ganesh. It opened and began to turn a few gears until we heard it lock. We both exchanged looks before figuring out the next clue towards the Tusk. The disc had laid out three weapons for us and come to find out, they had a purpose.

"The trident was Ganesh's weapon, the bow and arrow was Parahurama's, and…the axe was a gift from Shiva." Chloe explained before she took a pause. "…The great battle…"

I looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"The battle in which Ganesh lost his tusk. I bet we find these symbols, we find the tusk."

* * *

After finally hitting land, it became quite an adventure. It was already understandable that Asav was either only minutes away behind us or he was already on his search. Came to find out, he was right on schedule like us. It took us a few hours searching for all three towers that stood for each weapon. We had to go through some Rebels in the process and caused too much of an uproar to surprise Asav of our survival. Throughout the entire ride, I got to learn more about Chloe and about what kept her out here looking for this treasure. We talked about our strengths, weaknesses, likes, and dislikes. Our backgrounds came into the conversation as well and for some reason we decided to talk about the Drake Brothers when we made it to the first tower.

We had made it to the axe tower. The view was amazing, and I was enjoying it for a change since I wasn't so focused on my next demand, weather my men are safe, or who I must kill for my partner. Chloe had to crack a puzzle then we both needed to turn a crank that unlocks the first part of a relief that acted as a door just beyond the rest of the ruins. I praised her for her skill in archaeology since she had told me before that her father was an archaeologist himself. Chloe talked about him for a moment, breathing in the air that her father probably breath in as well since he was going after the Tusk years before and I guessed quit and give to her. Her story was almost the same as mine, but there wasn't any army she had to take over after her father retired in her story like mine.

"Family business." Chloe says.

"Hm, made a real mess of it." I replied, looking back at her while handing her back the binoculars we were using to see the relief. "But, you should know. Heard you and those Drake brothers are close."

Chloe hesitated like she regretted even being close with them. "Yeah. Well…" She begins as she walked over to grab her binoculars. "It's a conversation for another time."

* * *

We hurried back into the car to go after the last two towers.

"Hey, just so you know, Nathan Drake is no longer in the picture. You don't have to worry about him." Chloe says out of random.

"I had my concerns." I responded.

* * *

We had found the last two cranks after blasting through the rest of the Rebels Asav left for us.

"And now that's three." Chloe says as she checked the relief with her binoculars. "You know, you're pretty good at this whole treasure hunting thing."

"I'm a quick study."

"Hm."

I smiled back at the relief.

"One question though." Chloe continued, so I focused my eye contact back on her. "I reckon that you could pretty much do anything you want. Why are you so keen to get Shoreline back?"

"…Seriously?" I questioned.

"Hm."

"…My partner turns my own men against me, my lieutenant makes off with the bounty, Nathan and Samuel Drake get off scot free, and you're asking why I want Shoreline back?"

"Yeah." Chloe answered.

I hesitated. I thought she was only trying to play games with me, but I noticed in her eyes that she just wanted to know why I would try to get the men that betrayed me back.

"…It was on my watch." I said before crossing my arms. "I lost it on my watch."

* * *

Once we made it back to the car, we rushed towards the relief, finding out it was a secret doorway to the entrance of Halebidu. Turns out, it was another clue to where the Tusk of Ganesh will be since the dam of Halebidu looked exactly like the disc. After Chloe took in the view as much she could, I thought it would have been great if she could send a picture to her father since he wasn't able to finish his own search for the Tusk. That's when I found out that her father had already passed on. Before I could even try to comfort her in some way, Chloe brushes off the topic and quickly begins to climb towards the dam.

Once we made it into one of the statues of Ganesh that had an opening inside its head, the trail takes us to our next clue that had almost killed Chloe and I. Turns to find out, the Tusk was probably never in Halebidu and the city was just a decoy to hide it away somewhere in Belur. So, after getting out of the statue alive, we followed the aqueduct that began. Though, it wasn't long until we ran into the Asav's men again.

 **(A/N): Comment and Review! Thanks!**


	4. Chapter 4: The Great Battle

**(A/N): It's about to get intense... O_O**

 _Shit, that's Asav's truck_ , I thought. "It's Asav!" I shouted out to Chloe as we hid behind cover during a shoot-out with not only his men, but with his damn truck equipped with a machine gun on top.

"Get to the building!" Chloe responded, taking off without any thought with me right behind her.

 _Shit, shit, shit_ , I thought as I shot at the Rebels who were aiming for Chloe's back.

It was constant jumps for ledges and bullets flying in every direction. There were so many close calls with Chloe almost getting a bullet in her chest, but we kept running even when we made it to the steps of the building the men were coming from. We thought we had out ran Asav's truck, but it was strong enough to break out from an entrance of the building, missing both me and Chloe by a second. My heart was in my throat as the ground under Chloe began to crumble, forcing her to take a detour. Since the truck was so focused on Chloe, I had the chance to take cover and find another way for Chloe to get back to me.

"Frazer! Over here!" I yelled.

"Be right there!" Chloe returned before running behind a wall to gain more cover. I took off and dodged a few bullets before taking a shot at a rebel behind me. Then, I jumped over an ammo crate while taking three shots each at two men ahead of me. I looked over the ledge of the building and found Chloe sliding down a mud slide while taking out two other men.

"Nice one!" I shouted out before I noticed another rebel about to take a shot at Chloe. I dropped my rifle, jumped off the ledge, and landed on him. Though, that wasn't enough and finished him off with a quick punch to the face. "Never knew what hit him." I scoffed while grabbing the man's rifle and taking off after Chloe.

We had jumped for another ledge and ran into the line of fire with Asav's truck again. We quickly take over while dealing with three other men and I happened to find a door right beside them. I waited for Chloe to take off for more cover and that's when I took off for the door. "Frazer! Here! Help me with the door!"

Chloe had glanced at me to see where my voice was coming from before aiming for a gas tank and taking the shot. The blast had taken out all three men, but the truck was still firing. Chloe finally ran towards me, dodging every bullet the machine gun tried to give her. She slaps her body against the door and we both began to push and shove until we finally broke the door open and…fell with the ground below us. The fall wasn't very height, but we landed hard in a stream of water. Then, everything went silent, finding ourselves alone for now.

"You all right?" Chloe asked me while I finally regained my strength to get back up.

"Think so." I answered while getting up on my feet.

We had found ourselves in some sort of torture chamber and continued exploring until we could find our way out. It was a little dark, so our flashlights were needed during our walk. After finding a way into a cell and with ease, climb out of it, we were back on our aqueduct trail. Though, we had our guard down and didn't think if Asav knew where we were, but it was too late while Chloe started climbing up a wall to get to an opening, Asav's truck came crashing into the building with Chloe on top. Once the driver hit the brakes, Chloe rolled off the truck and hit the ground. I was structed by a brick and fell over, inhaling the dust that filled the air. I heard the truck door open and footsteps by me. I tried to get up as quickly as possible, but one of the Rebels decided to punch me right where the brick hit my face and I dropped back to the ground. It was only one quick punch, so I still had some strength to try to get back up one last time, but another Rebel hit me with the butt of his rifle. I didn't want to resist, and the men knew, so the man from before kicked me in the stomach, getting me even more boiled up to soon kick their asses when Chloe and I get the chance.

"The Eye of Shiva." Asav began to say and I knew that meant he had the disc in his damn hands. "Impressive. My men worked for a week and turned up nothing."

"Well, you probably hired the wrong expert." Chloe responded with a cracked voice.

 _Seriously. At a time like this, you would want to mess with the damn man_ , I thought.

"Perhaps."

Then, I heard bricks being punched from a wall and splashing into water. _Damn it, the aqueducts_.

"You know…" Asav continued. "A Hoysala once wrote of a young king, who showed mercy…and thus, ended out rituals. But, the old Kings, they understood that progress demands…sacrifice."

Chloe scoffs as I get yanked up by one of Asav's men to put me in an arm-hold while the other aimed his rifle at my head. "Is that what you tell your men?" She mocked.

"…All right." Asav says while pulling out his pistol, crouching in front of Chloe, and began to reload it. "So, in times of war, these aqueducts, they would run red though the capital. Those who would not fight, had to be used to inspire those who would."

Asav finally stood back up and aimed the pistol's head at Chloe's face. _Shit, need to move now_ , I thought as I slapped the rifle away from my face to give me enough time to aim my free fist right in the Rebel's groin that held onto my opposite arm. The man let's go of me, giving me the chance to lift my leg up to kick the rifle away to avoid the other man from shooting me. I quickly jumped to my feet and began punching the Rebel with the injured groin. The second man tried to put me in a chokehold, but I lifted him up with my back and ran him into the other man, slamming all three of us against the truck. Both men collapsed in pain, so I kicked the rifle away from their reach before finishing them off with one last punch in the face. I turned back to Asav and Chloe, but was too late to stop a swing at Chloe's face. I jumped kicked him back, staggering him, and took his eyes away from Chloe, so she could recover. I tried to take a punch, but Asav blocked it, so I quickly went for another kick towards his side, but he grabbed hold of my leg and my throat, threw me over his shoulder, and smacked me back down onto the ground with a thud. He had me land on a weapon rack, forcing some wood chips into my back as I blacked out.

It took me almost a minute to come to and had found Chloe's throat getting squeezed. I got up as fast as I could, jumped up onto of Asav's back, and beat the living shit out of the side of his head while allowing Chole to escape death.

"Frazer, get him!" I demanded while we still had the upper-hand.

Chloe ran back for Asav and kicked him right in the face. Suddenly, I heard more voices and noticed the men from before recovered and grabbed hold of Chloe, so I continued distracting Asav as long as possible until she could get back to my aid. Though, while thinking of my plan, I didn't realize Asav had moved backwards until I felt the pain in my back once he smacked me against the wall behind us. I lost my balance on him and dropped back onto the ground. _Shit! Hurry up, Chloe_ , I thought while Asav picked me up by my neck and slammed me back against the wall with my feet at a dangle; I had no way to escape, but Chloe. Luckily, she came in time and kicked him back from me and distracted him. I coughed up what I needed out and went back swinging, but Asav had control and kicked me back one last time against the wall and threw Chloe at me. We both crashed through the wall and splashed right into the aqueduct below.

"Grab onto something!" Chloe shouted over the raging waters.

"What?!" I asked while looking for anything to do so.

"Anything!"

By then, we saw light ahead of us and prepared ourselves to jump for anything to grab. Chloe had taken the first jump and used her grappling hook on a sturdy piece of wood coming from out of a wall. She swung across to a ledge and caught it. Unexpecting, the ledge cracked and had Chloe fall, smack into rocks coming out from the wall, and land hard on the ground below with the falling rocks nearly hitting her head.

"Frazer!" I screamed as I jumped for her grappling hook and swung onto the ledge. "Shit! Frazer! Are you alright? Talk to me!"

I hurried down the side of the wall until it was safe enough to drop down beside her and hurry to her side. "Frazer? Shit!"

I checked our surroundings to make sure nobody was nearby before I checked her and found her unconscious. "Damnit, Frazer! Stay with me now! Frazer?"

Chloe still hasn't moved, but I could tell she was breathing. I heavily sighed and sat down on my rear-end to try and calm myself down. _I'm going to have to keep watch until she wakes up. Now, it's just how long until she does_ , I thought.

* * *

It took Chloe about thirty minutes until she started moving in her sleep and I started to help her wake up. "Frazer…"

"Hmm." Chloe responds and that put me at ease.

"Frazer. Hey."

"Hm."

Her eyes continued to flutter open and close. "You okay?"

"…Yeah." Chloe answered and opened her eyes. "Think so."

I almost smiled at how relaxed she was. "Hey, take it easy. You've been out for almost half an hour."

"Half an hour?" Chloe repeated as she slowly started to get up.

"Yeah."

"Oh, shit. Asav's got the disc."

"Just hang on-" I replied while grabbing one of her arms to gently pull her up.

"Ugh, we got to get going-"

"Hey, relax, all right?"

Chloe doesn't answer as she pauses; she wobbles a little while she exhales.

"Think you could manage?" I continued to ask. She nods.

"Yeah, I had worse nights, believe me."

I laughed. "I won't ask."

Then we were finally both smiling, relieved that she was okay. I looked back at her and she returned her eyes back on me.

"It's good to have you back." I said.

"There's…there's two of you now, right?" Chloe asked, jokingly.

"Ja." I answered, smiling.

She nods. "Okay. Let's go and get our disc."

"And some guns."

"And some guns." She repeated before we headed off out of the cave.

* * *

After a bit of climbing, we had found the gate that will reveal the entrance of Belur. Once opened, a statue of a cow arose in the distance in the hills.

"That's Nandi, Shiva's gatekeeper. That's got to be the entrance to the old capital." Chloe explains.

I considered my binoculars to get a better look. "It had to be triggered by the aqueducts."

"Yep."

I looked back into the binoculars and had already spotted Asav and his men ahead of us. "Ah, shit. Asav's already heading inside."

"Okay, well, we better get down there, c'mon." Chloe replied.

Though, I had noticed someone else that I've seen before and just seeing them made me feel as if my lungs gave out on me. "No…"

I handed the binoculars to Chloe. "What do you mean, no?" She asked as she checked herself.

 _What the hell_ , I thought as my blood boiled another time. I wanted to run down there, take a chance, and just beat the living shit out of them until Asav's men pulled me back. Though, even doing that, I might grab hold to a gun and take a shot if I can. I couldn't relax myself, swaying side to side as if I was waiting for Chloe to give the signal to take off and kill them.

"…Sam Drake." I exhaled. "His goddamned _expert_ is Sam Drake?!"

"Yeah..." Chloe responded.

"Piss-you know what? This is a good thing. I can kill two birds with one stone." I said, already planning on how I was going to put both Asav and Sam in one spot and just start shooting.

"Nadine…" I heard Chloe call.

"What?" I asked, and Chloe hesitated, not even trying to cover it. "…What?"

"Sam's kind of the reason why we're here in the first place." She answered.

I shook my head. "No, you better be joking."

"This was my deal…"

 _I can't believe I trusted her. That damn, selfish bastard_ , I thought while trying hard not to swing at her, but she couldn't shut up to allow me to calm myself down.

"Sam went ahead to do recon for me on the disc." Chloe continued.

 _I was pulled into a rescue mission to save someone who tried to kill me_ , I thought, shaking my hands to keep them from going towards Chloe's skull. "Oh, shit…"

"But then he went missing and I couldn't leave him for dead-"

"You knew my history with Sam, and dragged me into this anyway!" I pointed out as I stepped a little closer towards her.

"Your history with Asav made you the obvious choice-"

I didn't even care what she had to stay, she put me in another problem with the man who put a gun against my skull and was willing to pull the damn trigger. So, I swung for her face.

 **(A/N): Uh-oh! We have some problems...Comment and Review! Thanks!**


	5. Thanks Author's Note 1

**(A/N): I wanted to bring something up when the next chapter wasn't ready yet.**

So, I was on YouTube just searching stuff of to laugh at and the thought on working on the next chapter for "Thanks" came into mine. Though, I wanted to see how big Sam x Nadine was and sadly, it's small. Though, I found a fan-made music video about them and it was good with a song that I put in my Spotify, lol. Now, since I'm working on a Nadine x Sam story, I might as well tell you all about the video, so you can get a feel of it too. The video is called, Nadine Ross x Sam Drake – Options. If it's hard to find, it's by Raven Black Productions…the only YouTuber now that made the only two videos on them as a ship. Hope you like it and if you do, give them a like! It's official though, Options By: Croosh is now their song, lol.

 **(A/N): Comment and Review! Thanks!**


	6. Chapter 5: The Lost Legacy

**(A/N): Next chapter!**

Chloe hit the floor just as hard as my fist hitting her cheek. After taking my anger out on her, I finally calmed down enough to keep my distance. Though, I think that punch wasn't just for her lying to my face. There were many more problems clouding my mind and she was just the first thing I could punch.

"Don't hold back or anything." She says as she held her nose.

"Oh, I did." I spat.

Chloe let out a heavy sigh. "You know what, Nadine?" She continued as I walked passed her. "This doesn't change anything. You'll still get your share."

"Yeah? Or maybe you and Sam will cut me out as soon as you get the Tusk."

 _Why not even let Sam finish blasting my head into bits_ , I thought.

"Come on, man, that's not how I operate-"

"That's exactly how your type operates!" I shouted at her and almost wanted to take another swing at her. Chloe looked up at me as if I had pissed her off just a few minutes ago and I saw the blood draining from her nose. Though, all that pain in her face, physically and mentally, I didn't care for it anymore. "And to think I _trusted_ you."

I had heard Chloe speak again, but I was completely done with listening and took off towards a car that was left behind by Asav's men. Once I drove off, everything about the Drake brothers began to swarm thought my head. I was torn apart and stepped on like I wasn't important anymore. It was as if being a mercenary was all I had and the only skill anyone cared about. I banged a hand against the wheel and almost swerved into a rock. _I can't believe she lied to me. Why would she think I would work with someone that I have a past with? Just because I have a past with Asav, it doesn't mean I would work with Sam! What was she thinking and after all I did for her_ , I thought. _Sam Drake of anyone she could choose from! Why did I accept the offer if I knew she had a past with the Drake brothers?_

I needed to calm down because I was heading for Asav with or without Chloe since now I just wanted him and Sam dead. I almost didn't care about that Tusk, but if Chloe was right, I might have the advantage to take it away from everyone and quit with helping anyone with handling ancient artifacts. I wanted to be so focused on Chloe, be pissed at her for what she had done, but the only person that kept pissing me off was Sam. I kept feeling that I had a gun against my temple as if I was reliving that day. I even remembered the warm of his body against my back…his racing heartbeat…

I stopped the car and almost choked on a hitched breath. _What the hell am I thinking_ , I thought and suddenly heard another car engine on the right of me. I glanced over and realized I was caught by Asav's men handling another one of their armed trucks and was almost blasted out my car.

"Shit!" I shouted before quickly taking off without a thought of Chloe and headed to any place that would keep me hidden and alive, just enough to leave and get onto the next plane home. After about a minute of driving in circles while trying to find anything to hide in, the truck had tricked me and slammed into my side. I had lost control of the wheel, spun around, and crashed into a boulder. I guess I had lost consciousness since I opened my eyes and had noticed the car was on fire, almost completely engulfing me inside. I was able to crawl out and run just in time to take cover as the car finally blew up. "Shit!"

I scanned the area and dashed for cover after seeing headlights from the truck. After it drove away, I followed it to the entrance of Belur, guarded by not only the armed truck, but by at least eight other rebels. _At this point, I might need Chloe for a human shield_ , I thought, almost laughing at the thought before hurrying off towards the entrance. It wasn't far and only two men were standing in my way of getting inside.

I climbed up the side of a ledge and yanked one of them off. Once I climbed up to take out the second one, another man turned the corner and caught me, almost about to shoot, but I quickly dove for him and took a punch for his face. He fell back and slid until he smacked himself against the remains of a building. I turned around and had found the man I was going after before, climbing into another truck with a weapon crate in the back. I ran after him, knocked him out, and grabbed a few guns for future shoot-outs. There were at least two more men until another explosion. I looked from where I came from and saw Chloe running around, taking out two more men. A few feet behind her the truck was already taken out. I rolled my eyes since I knew I had to thank her for making it easier to take out the others and continued with the men at the entrance. Though, I heard another engine come up behind me. I ran for more cover and started taking out the reinforcements. Chloe had spotted me and came running to my side while almost getting shot in the head by a man ahead of us. I stood up from my cover and took four shots to take him down.

"Nadine, are you alright?" Chloe asked before taking a shot at another rebel.

Even though I was still pissed at her, I was glad she had followed me. I probably would have made it to the entrance alive. Though, even if I had, Asav would have just killed me though demand.

"Can't resist kicking the hornet's nest, can you, Frazer?" I asked, almost wanting to smirk.

"Yes, yes, listen we'll never get anywhere with these guys around! C'mon!"

We hurried back to where the destroyed truck laid as we searched for the last remaining men and took them out. Then, we both went back to the entrance to turn its crank to open it.

"There we go. You're welcome." Chloe randomly says, again pissing me off.

I turned to her. "You lied to my face."

"I didn't lie, I just left out the part about Sam."

I scoffed. "Incredible."

"Look, Asav is getting a head start. And we need to hurry-"

" _We_?" I repeated.

Chloe sighed something under her breath, but I couldn't hear her over the rain. "Look, I-"

"Spit it out!" I shouted, finally tired of her hesitating.

"Okay, Cards on the table. I need your help." Chloe admitted.

"Should of thought of that before." I retorted.

"And if you want the Tusk, you need mine."

I hesitated myself. _I still wanted that Tusk_ , I thought.

"Look, I screwed up, okay?" Chloe continued.

"This is your idea of an apology?" I asked.

"Well, if it helps to keep your head in the game, then sure."

 _Oh my god_ , I thought, beginning to walk away from her, but she got in front of me.

"Listen," She continued. "We both got something to lose here, am I right?"

"…Just so we're clear, my priority is the Tusk. Not Sam Drake…and certainly not you." I explained to her before heading off to the open door.

"Fair enough."

After walking in and closing the door behind us, we hurried after Asav. It took us to find a sculpture to find out we were entering the back door of Belur. Though, the story about Ganesh, Belur, and this crap was starting to become boring. It was like I was somebody else during the time searching for the Tusk. Suddenly, Chloe and I had heard something moaning as it echoed through the ruined hallways. It continued to become louder and I was beginning to get a little fidgety. Something was up, and we were about to walk right into it.

"What is that?" Chloe asked.

"Whatever it is, it's close." I answered while laying a hand against my pistol.

Come to find out, it was an elephant trapped under a broken pillar.

"Easy girl. Easy…" Chloe softly says as we got a little closer to calm it down.

Without showing it to Chloe, I was a little excited seeing the creature so very close, but luckily, still alive. "I don't think she's wounded." I pointed out.

"Those explosions we heard must've triggered the collapse."

Quickly, we helped the elephant and saved it. Though, it wanted to take us with them as it followed the trail ahead. Chloe and I were both a little nervous about riding it and making sure it wasn't going to take off again without warning.

"We need to get down." I said while holding on.

"Just stay calm!" Chloe responded.

"Are you talking to me or the elephant?"

"Both!"

Chloe continued to pet the elephant until it finally relaxed. Then, it had finally gotten quiet. "Where's it taking us?" I asked, a little pleased I even got to ride it.

"Wherever it wants."

The elephant didn't walk for long through the grotto that was so magnificent. It was a tranquil place of many animals living their lives without a worry in the world. It seemed the grotto was stretched for miles and it was not something you could take your eyes off. It got even more exciting since monkeys came out into the open and climbed overhead of us. It was so intrigued that I didn't realize Chloe looked back at me with a smile. When I did, I quickly dropped my own and looked away, a little embarrassed of showing how excited I was.

"Look, I…um..." Chloe began to say. "I'm not very good at the whole people thing."

"You're a selfish dickhead." I replied, almost smiling.

"Yeah, you're right. I am a selfish dickhead."

I glanced at her. "Ja."

Chloe starts to laugh, and I joined in. After listening to all the times she tried to explain why she didn't tell me about Sam Drake, I knew she just wanted to not only "keep my head in the game", but she didn't want my anger to get the best of me. Even though if she would have told me in the beginning, I was still going to be pissed, but I probably wouldn't have tagged along most of the way. I know she only wanted to save him after letting him go alone to find any clue for the Tusk and I understand that, I just wish she would have chosen someone else to do that part of the job for her.

"It's good to hear you say it." I continued.

"Well, did you hear that, dad? Did get something from you after all."

"…What happened with your father?"

Chloe paused before taking a sigh and beginning to tell. She had told me he was the man who couldn't walk away. The Ministry of Culture had offered to finance one more of his expeditions because he said he was onto something big. Unfortunately, bandits had raided his camp and his body was found later by the local authorities weeks later.

"…I'm sorry." I said, softly.

Suddenly, the elephant took off with a blow from its trunk.

"What's it doing?" I asked.

"Charging, I think?"

"Tell it to stop!"

"'Cause I speak elephant?"

And the next thing I knew we were thrown into a pond. We got up and started laughing, glancing over at the herd of elephants.

"Look at that." I say.

"Ah, no wonder she was so distressed." Chloe pointed before putting her focus back on me. "…Hey, about the whole Sam-"

I let out a sigh and waved at hand at her, not wanting to talk about it anymore and just help her out. "Look, I get it, all right? I've got my own shit to sort out as well. Let's not have that stand in the way anymore, hey?" I smiled at her and she returned one back.

"…Okay. Deal."

Since we both agreed we were going to work together to not only help Sam Drake, but now we were completely focused on getting the Tusk before Asav once again. We continued through the grotto until we finally reached the end, finding Belur.

 **(A/N): Comment and Review! Thanks!**


	7. Chapter 6: Partners

**(A/N): Next chapter!**

"Woah. Hello, Belur." Chloe says as we stared at the magnificent city. It was as if we were standing in some sort of fantasy. It was so much to look at and it wasn't even half of what we were going to see inside. "You know, it's not every day you get to see a totally hidden city that nobody else seen for centuries."

"…Apart from Asav." I teased and waited for her response.

"Apart from Asav." Chloe repeated.

"And a few of his men."

"…And a few of his men."

I looked back at her, trying hard not to smile. "…You ready?"

Chloe narrows her eyes at me. "You just…totally crushed that moment. You know that, right?"

I gave her no expression as if I didn't care, but deep down inside I was cracking up.

"Yeah, I'm ready." She says before we headed off towards the city.

Though, the second Chloe made her first jump towards a pillar, Asav's men came to guard the entrance with two snipers and a third armed with a rifle. Luckily, Chloe had grabbed a silenced pistol and took out all three without no worry. We were expecting more and three more were walking within the dwellings. We both stealthily took them out, almost alarming the last one that was up the stairs, but he had climbed down to check on the others, allowing Chloe to come out of hiding to break his neck. We were able to see two more men on a balcony, so we swung over to them and took them out by landing on top of them. We took cover again and noticed we were about to face a small team, so we had no choice, but to take fire. I guess Asav wanted the job of killing us to be quick, so he decided to post two men, fully armored and handling a machine gun to be posted in the area. Chloe swung for another balcony and grabbed the rebels' attention, almost getting shot down. There were too many of them to count, so I started taking fire. Chloe and I had to constantly move due to the armored men trying to rip us into shreds. At some point through the shoot-out, Chloe was able to grab a few C4s and throw them everywhere she saw any more men. Soon, she had them all go off, taking out the rest of the Asav's men.

We continued moving, finally making it into Belur. While heading through, we had bumped into two more men, but they were only there for about a minute until they blew the way for us to continue after Asav. So, we took another way underwater and had made it to some sort of library with a sculpture in the middle of the room.

"Frazer, over here." I said, grabbing her attention away from the artifacts.

"Whoa." She says as she laid her eyes on the sculpture. "It's incredible. It's an altar of some kind."

After hearing Chloe and her ramble about Belur throughout the entire effort to get here, I was able to identify that it was the eleven kings holding onto the Tusk of Ganesh as arrows was shot at not only them, but their people protected under them. It was crafted in gold and stone as dust and cobwebs laid on top.

"Looks like the kings suffered dearly for their people." I responded as Chloe crouched down to take a closer look.

"…They weren't just protecting the Tusk." Chloe pointed out. I looked back at her and noticed she was onto something more about the sculpture. "Historians believed that it was a symbol of power and dominance, but I reckon they misunderstood."

I took another look at the sculpture and tried to see what she saw.

"It was a symbol of their people, their culture." She continued, making my eyes finally open. "It was a symbol of them."

"Wait, so what are these?" I asked, staring at ten smaller sculptures on top of the tusk. I blew the cobwebs away and noticed it was something Chloe has been holding on to ever since it came in the mail one day when she was just a young girl. It was something her father gave her before he passed. I looked back at her and smiled because that was a sign that her father was here.

Chloe had pulled out the missing sculpture from her pocket and let out a sigh before setting where it should have been this entire time, the one item that he gave to someone that he knew would keep it safe just as he kept her safe. She exhales before looking back at me. "…My dad was here." She says before she started laughing. "…"Something big", all right. Why didn't that stupid bastard tell me?"

"…You said it yourself, he wanted to keep you safe." I answered.

Chloe sighed again as she sat down and leaned against the sculpture. She needed to take all that pressure out of her chest after discovering not only the secret behind the Tusk, but why her father sent that small sculpture to her before his death. This entire time, she could have been thinking it was some treasure he had found in the jungle and wanted her to have it, but it was something more than just treasure. It was a piece of her father that she had carried for all these years, it was a way of saying that he was right beside her, and finding the Tusk with her.

I crouched down beside her and waited for anything she had to say. I didn't know if she wanted to end the job of finding the Tusk and Sam or just end it here. I would have accepted either way, but I wanted to find the Tusk with her and help her father finish what he had started. I didn't want to leave her behind this time like I did before. This time, this job will be finished for her and not just for the money.

"I can't let Asav get that Tusk." Chloe finally says as she glanced over at me.

"…No. No, we can't." I agreed.

"…Thank-you."

I scoffed. "Thank me after we get out of this alive."

Chloe laughed as I stood up to help her up. "Fair point." She replied as she took my hand.

"Don't forget Ganesh."

Chloe grabbed the small sculpture and triggered a door in front of us to open. "Oh…glad I brought this."

We continued through the door and did some climbing, but a lot more swimming. It wasn't long before we swam right up to a gigantic and breathtaking statue of Shiva. Though, it took us some time after finding out we needed to find a few cranks to get closer to the Tusk. Climbing around Shiva's body, we had found six cranks that triggered two aqueducts. After those were on, two doors opened that lead us into Shiva's body and revealed a staircase to one last crank. It moved Shiva's bottom arms that was filled with water and had them pour the water into some sort of pool below Shiva. Then, the water triggered a ray of light ahead of us that shined on a statue. Then, some sort of chandelier emerged from the ceiling and gave us a convenient way for us to use our rope and swing over to the statue.

"That thing it's holding, it's a prism." I say after Chloe found out the statue could turn.

* * *

After heading towards the last statue out of five, Asav's men had found us. The first thing they went for was for the ledge right under Chloe using a rocket launcher. Suddenly, it began to break in half as Chloe rushed for the top. I was so focused on how the hell I was going to reach for Chloe that a bullet had to fly passed my head for me to move without any thought. I jumped off the pillar and ran for Chloe's aid as the statue began to push her down with it. I jumped down and slid after her, catching her the second her body left the ledge. I was surprised the men didn't finish us off right there, but they probably though that was all they needed. Sadly, for them, we got back up and hurried off the breaking ledge.

There were already three men waiting for us and Chloe quickly took out one as I knocked the lights out of the second one. I turned around and found Chloe in a chokehold and dashed for her as a bullet grazed my shoulder. I kicked the man back and shot him down before Chloe and I turned and shot down the man that had shot me. Chloe continued to run as I took cover to see how many we had left and noticed they were coming from a door ahead of us.

As Chloe ran, another rocket had come for her, and knocked her down once more. Though, this time I couldn't catch her in time, but lucky for her, the ledge didn't completely fall and gave her the second to jump back up into the fight. There was a man already waiting for her, but she quickly took him out as I shot another man only a few feet behind them. After I jumped over the collapsed ledge, we took out about eight more men until it was only the rocket launcher standing in our way. I noticed behind him was a door that they were coming from.

"There! The door's just ahead!" I yelled before another rocket was shot. Though, the second I said something five more men came running out and began to shoot. Chloe was almost shot down before I made it behind her to help her out. I took out two men as she ran for cover. We kept shooting until it was only one man and the rocket launcher left. Chloe jumped over her cover and jumped for the door on its ledge. Though, the second she climbs up, the rocket launcher didn't know how to stop shooting and blasted the ledge beneath all of us. It began to fall apart, but the only piece that completely tore off was with only Chloe and me on top.

"Oh, shit!" I yelled before we both screamed into the water below.

* * *

I pushed my head though the surface with Chloe and we both swam back to Shiva, coughing and wheezing. I thought we had a split second to take off somewhere or be assumed dead, but Asav himself wanted to make sure of that.

Asav was waiting for us back at Shiva with his men already on us, pulling us back to our feet, and cuffing us.

"Well, now that was quite the fall, you had me worried." Asav teased, smirking at us. "Come. It's time for a reunion."

 _Reunion_ , I thought. _What does he mean by-_

My question was cut short by noticing Sam Drake ahead of me, getting thrown down to the floor and taking a quick swing to the face by the butt of a gun.

 _Shit_ , I thought as my anger took the best of me as I was thrown beside him. There were two men in a room that I wanted to kill in cold blood, so my mind was running wild with memories. I couldn't think straight, I couldn't think about Chloe, and I couldn't even think to calm myself down. I just wanted to punch one of them in the damn face!

"Oh, Sam.." Chloe whined, gargling a small amount of water in her voice. "Jesus."

"Hey, you made it." Sam wailed.

"Dude."

"It's all right. He hits like a girl." Sam teased.

 _Excuse me_ , I thought. "Is that right?" I asked, raising up on my rear-end to give him my full eye-contact to make him realize it wasn't just him and Chloe. "How about we get these cuffs off and I'll show you how girls hit?"

Sam frowned at me with his bruised eye before looking back at Chloe, confused. "What the hell is she doing here?"

"You said find help. I got help." Chloe answered, already annoyed with the problem of having to deal with the both of us.

"Yeah, but-"

"I must admit…" Asav began to say, cutting off Sam to get our attention. "…You are quite the schemer." He says to Chloe and continued. "First, you steal my disc. Then, you have your "expert" run me around in circles…that's clever. Perhaps there's a little Indian blood in you after all."

Asav places the disc inside the slot and turns it, opening a secret entrance in front of Shiva. Honestly, after seeing so much magnificent findings during this whole adventure, I was expecting a secret entrance somewhere, but I still amazed.

Suddenly, the floor below us began to move and took us down to the pathway.

"Well, let's finish what we started." Asav says before his men yanked us back to our feet and pushed us behind him.

I thought it was going to be a quiet walk towards the door, but I should have known that it wasn't because the first person who wanted to speak at a time like this was none other than a Drake Brother.

"So, Nadine Ross." Sam says as I avoided his eye contact.

"Don't talk to me." I spat and Sam chuckles.

"I was going to say you look good."

I glared my eyes at him as he looked away, grinning. "Was I not clear?" Then, there was an awkward silence through everyone until a sudden stench passed by my nose.

I scoffed. "What's that smell?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I haven't exactly had access to running water and soap recently." Sam retorted, reacting as if I had hit a nerve. "God, all the people you could've brought with you."

"She saved my ass more than once, you know." Chloe pointed out from behind us and I smirked at her response.

"You do remember that, ah, she also tried to kill Nathan and I, many, many times?"

At that point, with them talking about what I did in the past had made me somewhat glad they were. It was something I was able to look back on and wouldn't regret it.

"And to be fair," Chloe continued. "You two tried to do the same to her."

I smirked at Sam as he took a quick glance at me before turning his eyes on Chloe; I continued looking ahead. "A-yeah, but that-that's not the point," Sam admits before continuing as I suddenly felt him glaring at me. "The point is that the second we turn our backs, there will be a knife in there."

Chloe sighs.

"I can hear every word you're saying." I announced.

"I know!" Sam shouts.

"I…trust her." Chloe included, and Sam laughed again.

"You-you know what? Fine." Sam continued. "I guess I'm just a little bit irked that we are walking away with nothing, but I guess you know what that's like, right?"

 _Damn you_ , I thought before crashing myself into him. Sam looks back me with the same expression he had when he placed a gun to my temple, so I knew I had pissed him off. I watched him walk pass me, waiting for him to make a move because I wanted him to so badly. I didn't care if I had to take a bullet for it to happen.

"Real classy, thank you." He says as he walked off with one of Asav's men right behind him.

"Time and place, children." Chloe teased.

"More where that came from." I pestered at Sam.

"Bike racks, after school." Sam replied.

Chloe sighs again and by then I realized we were finally at the door. Chloe went ahead and opened the door for Asav and found two gods in battle.

"It appears the kings have one final test." Asav says as we all stared in awe.

"Looks like you won't be needing us though. So, we'll just be on our way." Chloe adds and tries to move, but her escort grabbed hold of her and yanked her back in front of him.

"Oh, on the contrary. Surely, you know the story?" Asav asked as he wiggled his fingers at her to come towards him. Asav's man that was on her began to uncuff her and by then I knew Asav wanted her to figure out the puzzle for him. "You see…Shiva gave Parashurama the mighty axe that struck Ganesh in the face, bringing Shiva's son, one of the greatest gods, to his knees. Another casualty of war."

Chloe looks back at me. "Don't." I say.

"Yeah, seriously, Chloe, he's just gonna kill-" Sam tried to say before the man on him struck him in the back of his legs.

"He's right." Asav admits. "But if you refuse…"

Suddenly, he points at one of his men and I felt someone kick me in the back of my legs before a gun was smacked into my face. I thought it was over until I felt someone constantly kicking my back.

"All right!" I heard Chloe yell and the kicking had finally stopped.

"Damn it," I whined as I tried to get back up on my knees.

"Chloe, don't!" Sam called out before Chloe gave into Asav's threat and placed the disc into the slot to start the puzzle.

After Chloe pushed a few levers and fixed a picture to see the full story, her eyes lit up and I knew she had found something Asav couldn't see.

"Wait a minute, he's yielding." She says.

The Parashurama statue suddenly began to move his axe, ready to swing. _Shit, that happened before_ , I thought. Back when Chloe and I were still looking for the entrance to Belur, we had walked into a puzzle that dealt with axes. If Chloe landed on the wrong pressure plate, the statue with the axe would swing at her and forced her to start the puzzle over again until she passed though; she had to face three of those puzzles. "The axe, it's going to fall." I tried to explain to Asav.

"Quiet!" Asav yelled at me and continued watching Chloe.

Chloe looked over at the Ganesh statue and began to move his arms using the disc until she had him yielding and the second she accepted her choice on the statue posed, Parashurama swung his axe right under her chin and halted. I almost choked on my hitched breath before glancing back at Asav to see what he was going to do.

"…Huh?" Asav questioned.

I looked back at Chloe and almost smiled. "Are you all right?" I asked.

"Yeah." She answered with a small grin on her lips. "That was unexpected."

"Holy shit, she's got balls, huh?" Sam includes.

I had to relax myself. I thought I had lost Frazer from a stupid puzzle.

"Ah…I…I don't understand." Asav continued.

"It's an idiom." Sam muttered.

"That's 'cause you've got it all twisted, my friend." Chloe begins to explain, and I was fully ready to hear another story. "Ganesh allowed himself to be struck by the axe."

"That makes no sense." Asav responded as he waved his hand at Chloe's man.

Chloe scoffs. "Not to a selfish prick, no. You see, Ganesh could've defeated Parashurama easily, but if he had, that would've make Shiva's axe look weak. Powerless."

"Ganesh sacrificed himself to preserve his father's honor." I added as Asav's men began to cuff us up on some bars.

"See? Even she gets it; Not a drop of Indian blood in her." Chloe teased.

Suddenly, where Chloe stood to use the disc, a pillar arose from the floor, revealing the Tusk of Ganesh and its bejeweled glory. Asav grabbed it and stared at it with amazement of finally seeing it in person.

"Magnificent, isn't it?" Asav asked us before taking a look at us. "…Oh, what? Nothing to say now?"

"Well, if you'd like, I can tell you where to stick it." Chloe retorted.

Sam laughed while I tried to hide a smirk.

"Well, my friends…" Asav continued. "I would love to kill you myself, but we must not anger the gods for you have brought me a great fortune."

"Okay, then, what are you doing?" Sam asked.

 _There's water around this chamber_ , I thought as I watched Asav's men place bombs on the large gears around the room that controlled it.

"…You're going to flood the chamber." I answered.

"I will miss you." He says to me. _And I will miss having the chances of slicing your throat_ , I thought.

"Come on, is this really necessary?" Chloe asked Asav, wiggling in her cuffs.

"You know nothing is ever truly destroyed, only purified and reborn." Asav replied as he grabbed the disc from the slot.

"Just shoot us and get it over with!" I shouted.

"Right." Sam agreed.

"As the water fills your lungs, you will have time to reflect on the choices that brought you here." Asav continued as the floor below him and his men began to rise. "Perhaps, in your next lives, you will fare better."

"Prick." Chloe muttered.

"I don't know about you guys, but I got a lot of regrets swimming around in my head right now." Sam admitted.

 _Now is not the time to joke around_ , I thought as I tried to see if the bar was weak enough to break out from the ground, but it wouldn't budge. "Tell me about it. I was really looking forward to kicking your ass again."

Chloe snapped a look at me and I knew she was upset on why I had to pick a fight with Sam before we die.

"Hey, you know, I'm not exactly thrilled about drowning next to you either." Sam responded.

"Could you give it a rest, guys? I'm trying to concentrate." Chloe interrupted, making me notice she was working at her cuffs.

"What are you doing?" I asked her.

"A little preparation goes a long way…"

"Ha-ha, yes!" Sam exclaimed as I realized Chloe had one of her bobby pins.

Suddenly, one of the bombs on the left went off and our timer towards our last breath began to start.

 **(A/N): I know some of you are reading this and just waiting for the Sam x Nadine moments (yeah, I'm excited too...yes it's official. The ship is pretty cute and I ship it like Loki x Valkyrie! XD)...yeah, thought I wouldn't realize that, huh? Well, *Sam interpretation* Heeeeeey, you made it...**


	8. Thanks Author's Note 2

**(A/N): Hello! XD**

So, we have a bit of a problem...Microsoft Word wanted to be mean and locked all of my work, so I a writer with no access to my books, fanfics, etc...I bet you writers out there knows how that feels.. T-T Anyways, as you and I wait for the day I can get my work back, I would like to fill your Nadine X Sam hearts with edited pics. I have a Pinterest account called: "Bliznet". I know some of you probably don't have pinterest, but you can easily search me on Google and see them without having an account and can easily save them to your phone! I update on pics, so check often! Also, I picked a new song for them as well! Powerful By: Major Lazer [Ft. Ellie Goulding, Tarrus Riley] I hope you enjoy the song!

 **(A/N): Guess what? I typed this up on my phone! Didn't know the FanFiction app updated; haven't used it since 2014-2015.**


	9. Chapter 7: End of The Line Part: 1

**(A/N): I'm back, baby! Next chapter ready to be read! XD I know you all have been waiting for this part, now... ;D**

It really felt like Chloe was taking her sweet time with that lockpick, but I knew she wasn't. Realizing that I might not cheat death another time made me quite uneasy as I stared at the running water filling the chamber.

Soon enough, Chloe got out of her cuffs.

"Okay, now do me!" Sam begged.

"Coming!" Chloe replied before another bomb went off, making the chamber begin to crumble.

Sam started to wiggle in his cuffs like a scared dog. "Okay – all right!"

"Damn it!" Chloe spat before she hurried over to me and began to lockpick. "Ladies first!"

"Ah, Chloe, dear, not to rush you, but could you please hurry the hell up!"

The water was filling the chamber too fast and it was finally time to take our last breath. My heart was trying to beat out of my chest as I felt Chloe go a little faster at her lockpicking. _Shit, Chloe_ , I thought. Soon enough, I was out of my cuffs and I quickly began to swim out as another bomb went off. I quickly turned back around and found Chloe swimming after her lockpick. _Damn it, damn it, damn it_ , I thought as I quickly looked for something else to break Sam's cuffs. As much as I wanted to kill that Drake, Chloe wasn't going to leave him like I wanted to.

I swam towards a piece of debris that was the size of a rock and rushed over towards Chloe and Sam; Chloe was tugging at the bars as Sam tugged at his cuffs. I rushed in and slammed the debris on the cuffs as fast as I can through the pressure of the water and finally broke through Sam's cuffs. Right then, I dropped the debris and took towards the light above. The last bomb went off just in time to have larger debris come down towards us. It wasn't much to avoid, and we finally broke the water surface. I was only able to hear Sam for a brief second until I heard a splash behind me followed by a Chloe gasping for air.

"Everyone good?" I asked as I began to swim out the water.

"Little waterlogged." Chloe answered.

"Doing great." Sam coughed. "I gotta quit smokin'."

Suddenly, I heard a helicopter overhead.

"Down!" I demanded, and everyone quickly ducked. We watched the helicopter head north to where Asav had the Tusk. "Think they saw us?"

"Let's hope not." Chloe answered.

"How the hell did Asav get that helicopter?"

"Maybe it's the buyers?" Sam pointed out, grabbing Frazer's and I attention.

"What do you mean?" Chloe asked.

"Just overheard Asav talking about…" Sam begins to explain before a cough. "…heading to the rail yard, something about an arms deal."

"He's selling the Tusk." I pointed out.

Chloe looked over at me and narrowed her eyes. "So much for preserving his culture."

I almost wanted to smirk, but Chloe had made that same expression from when we first started this whole job, so I knew she was pretty pissed off. I started to follow her until Sam stepped in front of me. I was beginning to think he was going to say something cocky, but the look on his face seemed edgy.

"Listen, uh…" Sam coughed up. "…Back there…"

It took me a second to realize what he was bringing up since I was more focused on surviving just a few minutes ago.

"Thanks for –"

"Professional courtesy." I sighed, trying to end the conversation as quickly as possible.

Sam scoffs. "Of course…So, we good?"

I started to walk off. "No."

"Ah, figured."

"If we hurry, we can intercept them before they make the sale." Chloe began to explain as she watched Asav and his men drive off down the path ahead. "And there's our ride."

* * *

After taking out one of Asav's men and borrowing his car, we continued to recover the Tusk. It was a quiet ride through the jungle and I was glad it was. Though, I couldn't stop looking at Sam through my side mirror. After he attempted to thank me for saving his life, I couldn't stop thinking about him. _I had to save him. If Chloe wasn't such a reliable partner, I would have left him for dead_ , I thought.

I looked back ahead and finally was able to see the railroad tracks straight ahead. "There. Railroad tracks." I pointed out and Chloe quickly stopped the car.

After getting out, we dropped down from a ledge, towards a ledge, and continued our chase by foot.

"Asav will have lookouts throughout the area. Best err on the side of caution." I explained.

"Right, right, right." Sam began to say. "And then we lose the Tusk."

I stabbed a glare in the back of his head as he continued walking. "You're welcome to stay behind if you'd like."

"I'm just saying that maybe we –"

"All right, all right, all right, all right." Chloe interrupted. "Less talking, more walking."

I know Chloe said not to talk, but...

"So, all that time in Asav's care, and you couldn't get any intel on the buyers?" I asked him before stepping off a ledge. He does the same and continued to walk beside me.

"Uh, well, I tried. Asav's a cagey one. Almost never talked shop in front of me." He answered.

"Can't imagine why."

"Hey, he trusted me enough to believe I was an expert in all this Hoy-sah-la crap."

I glanced at him and smirked. I was happy I wasn't the only one having troubles with that name. "Hoysala." I corrected.

"Yeah, that too."

I almost scoffed as Sam continued ahead of me.

"By the way," Chloe began to say to Sam, still focused on moving on. "thanks for keeping him busy for us."

"Yeah. You know I wanted to…buy some time. In case…you were coming to get me." Sam replied, unsettled.

"Of course, we were."

"Seriously, thanks. I thought I was a goner."

Chloe looked over her shoulder and grinned. "I wouldn't let that happen. Your brother would never let me hear the end of it."

After hearing all that, I realized Chloe was very close to the Drake Brothers. It wasn't because she had made a deal with him on this Tusk, but because their relationship was wrapped in an unbreakable chain. She had worked with Nathan Drake for about a quarter of her life now and after going through all that mess with him, she quickly became the family's closest friend.

I guess my boots were a little more interesting than the conversation since I realized my eyes were on them, so I focused my attention towards Sam. He seemed a little more at ease by just watching how he walked and seeing his loosened shoulders.

 _He really thought he was going to die_ , I thought.

Without thought on the outcome of my actions, I quickly paced up beside Sam and laid a hand on his back. He had tensed up the second he felt my touch and glanced down at me. Without a crack between my lips, I made him realize with my eyes that I will keep him alive during this job.

It looked as if Sam was about to say something, but I didn't want to hear it and hurried ahead of him as Chloe jumped onto a mud slide. Sam and I followed suit.

"Found the train tracks…sort of." Chloe pointed out at the end of the mud slide. "Kind of a shock, seeing all these modern structures after the Hoysala ruins."

"Well, that's either British, or Portuguese. Eighteen-hundreds. So, not quite modern." Sam corrected before we all walked across a wooden plank that connected two ledges and continued to climb.

Suddenly, I heard another chopper, but Sam had already open his mouth to point it out.

"It's circling." Chloe says as we watched it fly above us.

"Asav thinks we're dead. Let's try to keep it that way." I said as I walked passed Chloe and took the lead.

"So, Nadine…" Sam called. I instantly stopped walking and turned around to face him. He was keeping his eyes somewhere else as I narrowed my eyes at him.

"We're not on a first-name basis." I explained before I continued walking and allowed Chloe to take the lead again.

"Okay, fine. I heard you worked for Asav, too?" Sam asked before I found him walking beside me. "How'd ah…how'd you deal with the torture?"

I was taken a back and frowned, looking up at him. "Wha-What do you mean? Did he torture you?"

"Oh yeah. Wouldn't stop talking about himself or his cause. It's like, "I get it, man. You don't have to sell me on it. I'm just here to make some scratch."" Sam explained, making me roll my eyes. Though, he wasn't wrong. Asav does have a pretty big ego, almost the same size as Sam's…

"Can't stand it when people prattle on incessantly." I replied while I climbed up on a ledge after Chloe.

"Yeah, I know, right?"

There was another mud slide before we climbed up to an opening within the hill we climbed. Though, it was blocked by some thick roots from an old tree. After pushing through the obstacle and having to deal with Chloe almost sliding down a waterfall and to her death, Chloe and I continued her detour as Sam took the main route we were on.

"Hey…where's Sam?" Chloe asked.

"Don't think he has a rope." I answered.

"Oh, right. Forgot about that."

"He can sort it out."

"Hey," Chloe began to say as she kept me from walking. "thanks for not killing Sam."

I scoffed. "Maybe he could make himself useful and be a human shield."

"Or maybe…you just enjoy him being around." Chloe teased, poking my shoulder.

I raised an eyebrow. "Not ever. Why would I enjoy the presence of a cocky man that tried to kill me months ago?"

"Hey, we already made it clear you tried to kill him as well, Nadine."

I hesitated, so Chloe crossed her arms and smirked at me.

I rolled my eyes and moved her aside. "We need the extra pair of hands, anyway. We don't know how many men we're facing when we reach Asav."

We continued climbing until we reached some part of the railroad tracks. Chloe started to call for Sam and eventually, Sam came jumping from a crack within the mountain. As we headed for him, we noticed the railroad track had collapsed between us.

"We need something to get him across." Chloe obviously pointed out.

"Sam, why don't you try jumping over?" I shouted out to him.

He starts to laugh. "Sorry, but I'm not capable of superhuman abilities."

I smirked at him. "You could at least try…"

"Of course, you want me to."

I chuckled and avoided his eye contact by focusing on Chloe as she looked around for anything that could help Sam get across.

"Hey guys, if you want to flirt all day, I could order you dinner after all of this, but right now Nadine should be a little busy helping me find something to get you across, Sam…"

"…Um…right." Sam replied.

I knew he had glanced at me at some point when he spoke.

"Hey, this might do the trick." Chloe shouted. I looked over and saw she had started pushing a flatcar. "Holy mother of shit, this is heavy."

I quickly helped her out and pushed it half-way off the edge of our side of the railroad tracks. "Damn, you weren't joking."

"Ah, here goes nothin'!" Sam shouted before taking a leap onto the flatcar.

He was heavier than I thought he would be and of course, we couldn't pull him back on our side. Chloe and I lost our grip on the flatcar and heard Sam scream over our heads before landing face first in the mud behind us.

"That was close." Chloe says as she helped Sam up. "You in one piece?"

"Yeah. Go team!" Sam wailed.

"Come on. We're exposed up here." I say as Chloe ran passed me to continue taking the lead.

"Nadine," She called as she leaned up against a wall with part of a ladder that will continue our climb. "See if there's something up there we can use. I'll give you a boost-up."

"I can do it." Sam replied.

"No, we're good."

I smirked at Sam as I gently pushed him aside. "Watch and learn." I say before getting ready for the boost-up. Then, I took off for Chloe's hands, took the step, and was pushed up onto the ladder. Once I made it to the top of the wall, I found some poles for the others to climb up on.

We continued moving, jumping onto another pole beside the railroad and swinging onto another wall. Chloe almost had fallen to her death once more, but of course, she cheated death. We realized the only way to continue was to land on a mud slide ahead of us, but it wasn't close enough for us to take a jump on our own, so we needed to bring out our grappling hooks.

Sam had asked for my grappling hook, but it would have just been easier for me to use my own and have Chloe give hers to him. So, I climbed over Sam.

"Don't move." I demanded him.

"What're you oh-ow! Come on-hey!"

"I said, don't move." I pushed my hand against the top of his head and finally made it to the other side of him.

"Unbelievable."

I glanced back at him and raised an eyebrow before throwing my grappling hook at a broken branch overhead and swinging to the mud slide. After we all made it passed, we had swung into an opening into a cave where the railroad had continued. Though, going through the cave wasn't going to be simple since we noticed we weren't alone.

 **(A/N): I noticed through the charts you guys really seem to like the gun fights and fighting scenes, lol. Well, don't worry, many more are coming, lol. Comment and Review! Thanks!**


	10. Chapter 8: End of the Line Part: 2

**(A/N): Sorry for the long wait! Here's the next chapter!**

"What is this pla-"

"Shh!" Chloe quickly demanded once Sam spoke.

I wasn't too worried about Asav's men talking a few feet from us since it was going to be an uneven fist fight. Though, their uniforms didn't seem like Asav's men's attire.

"Just hope we get paid this time." One of the men said.

"Light?" Asked the other as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

"Sure."

"…All right, well, there's only a few of them, we can probably-"

"Wait." I told Sam.

"What an operation, eh?" One of the men brought up.

"That Asav guy doesn't do things half way." Replied the other. "It's going to be quite the show."

Those words: _Doesn't do things half way_. That was a punch in a gut for me. After hearing what the men said, I knew it was Shoreline. My time and dedication towards those men was now the just the past. I was now a joke to Shoreline, a joke to my Father's business, and I couldn't burn it to the ground.

I sighed with frustration; I couldn't think straight anymore.

"Son of a bitch." I whispered to myself, but I knew Chloe made sure she was listening to me. She was the only one, who was not Shoreline, that knew how I completely felt about my destroyed title.

"Shoreline?" Sam questioned, and I was prepared for anything cocky he had to say. "What the hell are they doing? We got rid of all these guys."

"Hey, Sam…" Chloe called.

Now, Sam had a little understanding as well. "Just saying…"

"…Hey," I heard Chloe say beside my ear. I faced her. "You cool?"

"Ja, I'm cool." I answered her, finally feeling my anger beginning to build up again.

"'Cause I need you to be cool."

" _I'm cool_."

"All right, ladies. Here's what we're gonna do." Sam interrupted, but by then, my mind was somewhere else.

I headed over towards the Shoreline men. I quickly slammed the side of my hand against the neck of the man on the left and punched the one on the right with my other. The man on the left quickly went down, but man on the right had a little more armor on to try to take in a few of his own attacks. I grabbed hold of his arm, turned him around, twisted his arm while kicking the man on the left in the face when he tried to grab his RPG. Unexpecting the man to pull the trigger, the rocket blasted the way out of the cave with debris. I swiftly did an uppercut to the right man's face before throwing him then covering my head to avoid any debris coming towards me. _Did I just do that_ , I thought as I looked over at Chloe and Sam dashing for guns. I did the same and quickly hid behind a few crates with a pistol in hand after hearing gun shots. _Shit, that was my fault. That was my fault_ , I thought.

"Hey!" I heard Sam call. I looked up and found him shooting down a Shoreline member coming from his right. Then, he looked over at me, pissed. "What the hell?"

I was speechless. Sam was right, and I agreed with him being mad at me for attempting something like that. I started to freeze in my spot, I finally couldn't handle the pain swelling up inside of me, so I began to shake in my cover as tears began to blur my vision.

"Hey!" I heard Sam, but it had echoed in my head. "Snap out of it, Nadine! We need you to focus!"

Suddenly, I heard gunshots right beside my head, making me flinch. Then, I felt hands grab my shoulders. I was about to swing for a face, but Sam's face appeared once my tears dropped. I realized I haven't seen that expression before, so I knew he was worried about me. Sam's eyes were wide, an eyebrow was raised, and his mouth agape from being out of breath. Though, I couldn't tell if he was only caring to make sure I don't get him, and Chloe killed during the shoot-out.

"Nadine, I need you to be your badass self right now! I need you to move!" Sam explained as he tightens his grip against my shoulders. We need to help-shit!" A bullet flew passed his face, forcing him to pull out his pistol and shot down two men. "Watch out for the shotgun, Chloe!"

Sam grabbed my wrist and pulled me into more cover.

"Nadine-" Sam continued.

"Go help Chloe."

Sam seemed as if he wanted to say something else, but he obeyed and ran back into the line of fire. "Chloe?!" I heard him yell.

 _Come on, Nadine. Of course, it's your fault, but this isn't you_ , I thought as I slowly got back onto my feet and stepped out of cover. Unexpecting it, a Shoreline man grabbed me from behind. I quickly elbowed him in the stomach and left his grasp. Then, I went ahead and kicked him in the groin. Once he fell to his knees, I smacked him in the face with my foot. I continued to move, finally starting to run. I jumped up onto a ledge and made it to Chloe with an armored man with a shotgun continued to throw bullets at her. I started shooting at his head until I finally saw him fall.

"You alright?" Chloe asked as she continued to run.

"Ja." I answered as I followed behind.

* * *

"Okay…I think that's the last of 'em." Sam sighed as he slid his pistol in his back pocket. The shoot-out was finally over, but I still couldn't stop thinking about Shoreline.

I walked over to the blocked exit by my doing and sighed myself.

"…Hey," I heard Sam call. I glanced over my shoulder and watched him slide a cigarette box into his pocket before I looked back at the debris. "you, uh…mind telling me what happened after Henry Avery's treasure?"

I hesitated while crossing my arms. Sam had stepped up beside me while sliding a hand into his front pocket. I looked up at him and he pretended to be more interested with the debris.

"I thought you knew?" I asked.

"Not enough to know why you had your sprinklers on." Sam answered before looking down at me.

"What?"

"Sprinklers. You were crying?"

I squinted an eye.

"Nevermind." Sam said before I heard someone walking up behind us. Chloe had found an artifact hidden within the cave. She showed it off before she finally went back into focus on the Tusk.

Chloe stepped up to the debris and had found an opening blocked by a thick piece of batten.

"I think we can squeeze through here." She says as she prepares herself to lift the batten. "Gimme a hand?"

I stepped up. "Coming." I answered as I grabbed a part of the batten. It was a little heavier than Sam, but it wasn't too heavy to where we couldn't pick it up. Honestly, I wish Sam was assisting us, but during that moment, I couldn't face him for some reason. "Frazer, you go first."

"Thanks!"

It wasn't long before Chloe gotten herself into another situation where she almost gotten herself killed since the railroad was unstable. It had tumbled under her feet, making Sam and I lose visual of her.

"Sam, hurry and get to the other side! I'll hold the batten for you!" I demanded.

"Yeah!" Sam responded as he hurried through the debris. After he stepped a good distance, I hurried in and followed behind him as he ran for a ledge with a radio tower that could possibly have Chloe dangling from it. "…God's balls, she's alive! Ha-ha! Nadine, she's over here!"

I looked over the ledge and found Chloe hanging on. "Are you alright down there?"

"Yeah, I was fine until Sam made me picture God's balls. Where are you?" Chloe answered as she continued to climb around the mountain.

"By the radio tower. Nadine, do you see a way up?"

"Frazer, we'll find something you can hook your rope to." I replied as I began to search around the radio tower.

"Ah, sounds like a plan." Chloe says.

"Hey, here's a pole we could use." Sam says as he picks it up.

"Would could place it inside the radio tower." I replied as I walked towards it while looking over the ledge for Chloe. "Got something for you."

I turned back around and watched Sam place the pole inside the radio tower. I reached up to help him reach the other end of the radio tower by grabbing hold of the pole. "Brace that against that strut." Sam demanded.

"I'm doing it." I fussed as I laid the pole down on the strut. I turn back to Chloe. "There. Okay. Come on up."

Chloe swings her grappling hook onto the pole with ease and swung over, but we suddenly heard the pole move within the radio tower.

"That doesn't sound good!" Chloe shouted as Sam and I checked the pole.

"It's buckling!" I shouted to Sam as he already began grabbing one end of the pole.

"Jesus!" Chloe shouted.

"Climb, quickly!" I shouted to Chloe as I hurried over towards the pole and grabbed on.

"Nadine, push the pole into my direction and hold onto it!" Sam demanded, and I instantly followed. "Chloe, get up here! Go, go, go!"

The remains of the radio tower had finally tipped over the ledge while Sam made sure Chloe was still climbing as he was starting to let the pole slip from his grip.

"Sam, hold onto that bar!" I shouted to him.

"I'm doing it!" He responded.

In a matter of seconds, Chloe was holding onto the ledge, looking right at Sam and I.

"Oh, shit." Sam sighed out as him and I tossed the pole over the edge once Chloe pulled her grappling hook off. "Well, it looked study enough."

"Thanks, you two. Well done." Chloe says as she climbed up and continued our route to Asav.

"Yeah, not bad…considering it was her idea." Sam replied before he glanced at me with a gesture of his hand.

I scoffed at him and followed Chloe. "So, you never heard Asav talk about Shoreline?" I asked Sam as I climbed up a ledge. I turned to face him and gave a hand as he climbed up.

He takes it and I pulled him up. "Swear to God. All I'd heard from his men was the Indian army had cut off his supply chain and they were looking for outside help."

I climbed up another ledge with a scoff. "Asav must be desperate."

"Yeah, and I mean…" Sam climbs up next. "Shoreline's willing to take money from anyone."

Suddenly, I stopped walking. I was going to argue with him, but for some reason I didn't want to look over my shoulder, so I pretended I was looking for our next way up to higher ground.

"I-I mean…" I heard Sam try to continue.

"Forget it. It's true." I responded.

"…Nadine." I heard Sam call.

"What?"

"…I'm sorry for ruining your career."

I looked over my shoulder and stared at Sam in disbelief. He looked a little nervous after he had said that and focused on the ground when I made eye contact. I completely face and crossed my arms. "You think that would make completely forgive you for what all you done?"

Sam shrugs his shoulders. "I don't know, but I just wanted to apologize. I'm starting to realize you really cared about Shoreline."

"…You and your brother made me look like a fool."

"Yeah, but-"

"You two versus a whole army."

"Okay, Nadine-"

"And what do I get? My men betraying me and my damn partner slapping in my face because he thought he owned me."

Then, I blinked and realized what I admitted to Sam. I dropped my arms to my sides and watched as Sam furrowed his eyebrows. "Wait, Rafe did what?" He started to question.

I turned around and headed towards Chloe. "It's none of your concern."

"Nadine-"

"Forget it." I spat over my shoulder at him before completely leaving the topic and trying much as possible to focus back on the Tusk.

 **(A/N): Comment and Review! Thanks!**


	11. Chapter 9: End of the Line Part: 3

**(A/N): Next Chapter! Whoo! This one is a little shorter compared to the others because the next chapter will be pretty long, lol. If you're someone who has played Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, you know what's coming up next, lol. Though, what's coming will have a twist, of course. X)**

"Almost there…" Sam said as he _nicely_ allowed Chloe and I to push a heavy cart towards the wall that would help us get closer to the rail yard where Asav and the Tusk of Ganesh would be.

At that point, I wanted to take another punch at Sam's face. I was completely discouraged on dealing with him any longer and was ready to finish this long adventure without him.

Suddenly, Chloe and I came down a small hill with the cart and couldn't control the weight any longer.

"Oh, shit! Look out!" Chloe yelled as I jumped out the way from the rolling cart hurling towards the wall Sam was looking at. If it wasn't for Chloe getting his attention, the cart would have smacked Sam against the wall, possibly killing him during impact.

Once the cart hit the wall, the top of it collapsed, opening a new attempt to get to higher ground.

"Didn't see that coming, everyone alright?" Chloe asked as she jogged over to the cart.

"Fine." I answered, watching her climb for the hole in the wall.

Before I followed her into the hole, I glanced at Sam, seeing him waiting for me to go in first. I rolled my eyes and scoffed before following Chloe.

"Nope! No good! The way through here is blocked." Chloe announced as I jumped down into the barricaded part of the railroad. The inner parts of the wall reeked, even worse than Sam. I turned on my flashlight, looking for anything that could help us pass through, but the room were completely bare.

"Nadine! Sam! I've found something that could help." Chloe called behind a wall.

I hurried over and followed Chloe's eyes above us. She had spotted a ladder for higher ground, but it seemed only one of us could go up with a quick lift.

"Mind getting me up there you two? There could be something up there that could help." Chloe continued as she turned to face Sam and I with a warm, but exhausted smile.

"No problem." Sam and I answered, simultaneously.

I made sure I didn't react as I saw Chloe and Sam frown at what had happened. I hurried over to the wall and stood in place for Chloe to take her jump. Sam does the same as we waited for Chloe to get ready before she took off for the wall. Sam and I quickly pushed her up higher and Chloe finally reached the ladder. Though as she climbed, the ladder broke beneath her.

"Woah! That was close." Chloe pointed out as she made it up the wall and began her search.

"Anything up there, Chloe?" Sam asked as I leaned up against the wall to wait.

"No, not yet. Hold tight."

Sam sighs heavily. I knew he took a second to glance at me before I heard him beginning to move around. I guess he isn't the standing around type.

"So, you're just going to ignore me, huh?" Sam finally asked.

"No, I'm just ignoring the conversation from earlier." I answered, giving him eye contact.

"Nadine."

I lifted up from the wall and walked up to him, poking a finger in his face. Sam takes a step back. "I don't have to tell you anything about my life anymore, Samuel. If you are willing to leave just like you did years ago, why should you care?"

"Even if I didn't, no man should harm a woman for no reason. I know I beat you around for Avery's treasure and my brother, but that wasn't what Rafe probably did to you."

"You did the _exact_ same thing he did, and you just admitted it!" I shouted, beginning to feel tears in my eyes. "But, what he didn't do, was leave me."

"That was my fault! I know, I get it! But, do you know how much I regret it every second from the moment I realized I fell in love with you?"

I scoffed. "You don't love me, Sam."

"I thought I didn't too, but I was completely wrong."

I stared at him as he started at me. _He loves me_ , I thought as I watch him take a step closer.

"Please, if you would just give me another chance." Sam begged as he stepped close enough to tower over me.

I instantly lowered my head and laid a hand against his stomach to gently push him a foot back. I wanted him back for so long, even during my time with Rafe. But, I couldn't forgive him for what he did to me.

I suddenly felt Sam grab hold of my waist, making me look up at him. I realized he was completely broken; waiting for the time to fully show how he felt about leaving me. He wanted us to be alone, he wanted to be forgiven, and deep down inside me I wanted to forgive and forget.

Sam glanced at my lips, leaned in, and I was allowing him too. I missed him so much and I couldn't think of how long I could hold back from him.

"Sam! Nadine! Head back to the tracks! I've found something!" Chloe called, interrupting us before the kiss. I quickly pulled back from Sam and hurried out the cave.

"On our way, Frazer." I responded.

* * *

"Here, I got your rope." Sam said after climbing into the rail yard.

"Thanks." I responded while taking the rope from him.

After Chloe found an ammunition crate that we could stack on top of the cart, we climbed up and used our grapping hook to swing around the blocked part of the railroad, finally making it to the rail yard.

It was surrounded by Asav's and Shoreline's men. So, this next attempt at getting the Tusk was not going to fly by quickly enough for us to escape.

We were hiding behind a wooden half wall, watching every man scouting the area.

"Well, this just keeps getting better and better." Sam says as I pulled out my binoculars to get a closer look. "Between Asav's men and Shoreline, there must be at least a couple dozen guys in there."

"Hang on." I interrupted, focused on something being lifted into the sky. "What's in that crate?"

"Guns…ammo, maybe?" Sam answered.

" _Maybe_." I sighed.

"…I thought Shoreline don't do arms deals?" Sam questioned, making me drop my hands to stare at him.

"We…"

Sam grinned.

" _They didn't._ " I answered before focusing back into the binoculars.

"Nevermind the crate, where's the Tusk?" Chloe interrupted, hearing the irritation in her voice.

As if right on time, I found Asav nearby a helicopter with someone and the Tusk. "Well, there's Asav with," I sighed. "…Orca."

"Who?" Chloe asked.

I handed her my binoculars. "My former lieutenant."

"I remember this guy." Sam laughed as he looked into his own binoculars. "Yeah, there he is in all of his mullet glory."

I couldn't help, but to laugh at his insulting joke. Even though he was my lieutenant, that mullet wasn't all that charming. Though, I'm glad to see he's gotten rid of it.

"Okay, well, the deal's done." Chloe interrupted. "Your boy, Orca, has the Tusk."

"Let's go relieve him of it." I replied as Chloe gave me back my binoculars, so I could put them away.

"Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait." Sam added, trying to stop us. "What about a plan, guys? Like I said, there's over a couple dozen guys in there."

I stood up with Chloe. "Relax. You'll live longer." I answered with a grin, making sure Chloe heard me.

Chloe scoffed. "I am so proud."

 **(A/N): Comment and Review! Thanks!**


	12. Chapter 10: End of the Line Part: 4

**(A/N): I'm back! And, with a new chapter!**

"This way." Chloe whispered through the tall grass that we jumped down to for cover. The chopper with Orca holding onto the Tusk was just above us, waiting for our arrival that he didn't know that already came. I pulled out my pistol, finally remembering that I was crouching into a suicide mission with Chloe Frazer and Samuel Drake.

 _I'm losing my mind! Why am I doing this again_ , I thought, following Chloe's orders when she gave a wave at me and Sam to swim across a river to get to the next patch of tall grass. It led us towards another broken down building with Shoreline men and Rebels.

Then, we climbed into a window of the building and hurried behind some supply crates. Chloe peeked out and found a Rebel leaning against a wall, smoking a cigarette. To her right was an armored Shoreline pacing back and forth.

"Shit…" Chloe muttered under a sigh. "How are we getting passed the armored one? That orange supply crate should have something for us to take that chopper down."

"You take out the smoker and I'll get him." I replied while taking the safety off my pistol.

Chloe nods before making sure the armored man had turned his back on the Rebel. As soon as he did, Chloe took off for the man against the wall. I hurried for the armored Shoreline until I felt someone grab hold of my arm and yank me back into cover. I spun around and landed against Sam.

"What the hell are you doing? Let me go." I muttered, trying to get my arm from his grip.

"There's another one up on the balcony; up there."

Sam points up above us and I followed with my eyes. I glanced at Chloe and noticed she had already taken out the rebel before the man on the balcony had realized. I placed my attention back on Sam. He was trying not to smirk at me. I tried to get away from his grasp and he allowed me to do so. I stepped beside him to regain my cover again.

I watched the rebel on the balcony and waited until he wasn't facing our direction. Then, I focused the armored man and dashed for him. I took a leap for his back and held onto his helmet until it slid off. The man was trying his best to yell, but I covered his mouth the moment I felt the helmet come off. Then, I broke his neck before he had grabbed hold of my hair. The dead man dropped forward, making me fall with him. I stared at the back of the man's head for a brief second before finally hurrying behind a thick pole nearby.

We continued moving around the rail yard as Orca was still waiting for us. We moved through tall grass and tackled more men to their deaths. One, by one, we made it to only the men on the balcony, but to get them, we had to show ourselves.

"We need those explosives." I whispered to Chloe as I stared at a truck holding another orange supply crate. Chloe followed my eye sight and sighed. "I can take out the rebel."

Chloe looked at me and nodded. She took off for the rebel and instantly knocked him out with one quick punch to the nose. The man dropped into the tall grass and Chloe signaled me to move. I kept myself crouched and ran for the back of the truck; I found the supply crate locked.

"Shit." I muttered. "It's locked."

"I got it, China." Chloe responded as she hopped on the truck with me.

I jumped off the truck and back into the grass as Sam ran up behind me. I suddenly felt his breath near my ear.

"There's another one comin'." Sam said and pointed passed me. I looked over and saw another rebel stepping out from a worn-down bar.

"Shit, he's going to see Chloe." I said before dashing for the man. I instantly jumped kicked the man in the face, but he only staggered. I was about to punch his stomach in when he suddenly shoved the butt of his rifle into my own stomach. I nearly choked on the pain as I grabbed his shoulders and slammed him against the side of the truck.

I was so focused on the rebel that I didn't realize Orca's chopper was heading in our direction. I never heard Chloe saying she grabbed the RPG, I never heard Sam saying to get down, I just listened to the rebel in pain as I continued to punch his face in.

"Nadine!" I heard Sam yell. I turned my direction to him, watching him jump for me.

Sam threw us into the tall grass and towered over me as the chopper flew over our heads. The wind was screaming in my ears as Sam raised his head up to watch the chopper until it finally flew somewhere else. I felt Sam's stomach touch mine as we laid there out of breath. He looked back at me and swallowed hard, realizing he was on top of me. I noticed the blush against his neck starting to form as he quickly got off me. I was still trying to register what had happen.

I looked over at the rebel I was focused on, unconscious beside the truck. I sighed and realized I put all my anger into that man. I couldn't understand why I did, but…

"If we can to the balcony, we'll have an easy shot on Orca." Chloe said, out of breath before taking off for the balcony with the RPG in hand.

Sam and I both chased after her as she already began to aim for the chopper.

"Chloe, what are you doing?" I shouted.

"I have a clear shot anyway, why not go for it?" Chloe answered before she fired the RPG. "Hide!"

The rocket hit right on target, making Orca grunt through his mic as we took off.

"Those bastards are here! Find them and kill em'!" Orca demanded as the chopper began to search.

We were hiding in an empty crate, listening to more Shoreline and Rebels running into the rail yard.

"Shit, there's more of them!" Sam muttered.

" _And_ , I need more rockets!" Chloe added.

"We need to go back to the supply crates." I pointed out before I checked outside the crate for anyone coming. "There was another orange crate back there."

"Gotcha." Chloe responded and took off for another empty crate as she switched to her pistol.

I was going to follow her until Sam grabbed me by the wrist again.

" _What?_ " I asked, frustrated.

"Let's split up and distract them from her." Sam huffed before letting me go. "Orca has guns on that helicopter, so we need to make sure they're not focused on Chloe when she's getting the rockets."

I stared at him, watching some sweat roll passed his left eye. I wanted to find some excuse to avoid leaving Chloe on her own, but he had a smart idea for once.

"…Alright. I'll follow you."

 **(A/N): Comment and Review! Thanks!**


	13. Chapter 11: End of the Line Part: 5

**(A/N): Hey everyone! Been a long time! I know I've only been updating this fanfic, but it's almost completed. So, I'm finishing it out. Hope you all enjoy the new chapter! Also, check me out on Wattpad for worlds I created! Ashlin_Port**

"There you are…" I heard a rebel say after I poked my head out from cover. I was about to let him come towards me to punch him in the face, but Sam, _Sam Drake_ , stepped out from our cover and did it for me. After he made sure the rebel was unconscious, he glances at me before moving to more cover. I followed.

"Chloe's near that orange supply crate from earlier. Let's move towards the water; get them to face the other way while she gets the rocket." Sam explained. "You with me?"

I nodded and Sam continued on, cover after cover until we were hiding inside a worn down coach. Then, Sam faced me. He seemed nervous.

"Ready?" He asked me.

"Ya, let's get this over with."

We both pulled out our pistols and revealed ourselves through the broken windows and began to fire at the new group of rebels and shoreline men. Orca's chopper quickly turned and headed for us, making Sam and I quickly take cover as it started to fire.

"Head for the water!" Sam shouted before taking off towards the back of the coach.

I chased after him and watched him dive into the water. I did the same and swam as fast as I could, avoiding bullets gliding through the water. I even saw one hurl passed my face, nearly making me choke on water. I pushed my head out the water and was welcomed to Sam's hand. I reached for it and he quickly pulled me out the water and into some tall grass. We were hiding behind a rocky wall to take in some air. We didn't even know if Chloe had another rocket.

"This is fun." Sam sighed.

I glanced at Sam, seeing him drenched. His flannel was sticking to his t-shirt and his t-shirt was sticking to his chest. His eyes and hair seemed darker and for some reason, I found it a turn on for me.

 _What the hell_ , I thought before interrupting it, focusing on the water in front of me.

"We need to keep moving. We don't know if Chloe's in trouble." I replied.

"Yeah, let's keep moving."

Sam checks behind the corner before jumping back into the water. I followed behind him with our heads above the surface.

"There she is." Sam whispered while slowly raising a finger to point towards the direction.

Chloe was hiding in some tall grass, reloading the RPG.

"We need to help her." I added while rushing towards Chloe.

I didn't want her to pull the trigger before we got there. I wanted her to have some sort of cover.

I quickly jumped out the water and jogged for her, making sure no men was going to spot me. Though, I didn't make sure I passed all of them. Suddenly, a rebel had yanked me back by my hair and held me into a choke hold. For some reason, this man was too strong. I couldn't find a way to hurt him. I tired stepping on his feet, head-butting him, elbowing him in the stomach, but nothing was working. I started to freak out and began to grunt out my pain, but it wasn't loud enough for Chloe to hear me.

 _I thought Sam was behind me_ , I thought, feeling tears form in my eyes.

My breathing began to hitch; I was near death.

"Let her go!" I heard Sam shout before the rebel let me go.

I dropped to the ground, coughing out my near death experience once again. I looked up and saw a blurry Sam punching at the rebel as many times as he could before the rebel fell down himself, unconscious. Then, I only heard Sam out of breath before he wrapped his arms around my chest to pull me into cover. He laid me up against a wall and stared straight into my eyes.

"Hey, you alright?" He asked. "He nearly had ya."

"I'm fine." I croaked

"No, you're not. You look dazed."

"I said, _I'm fine_." I repeated, before trying to stand back up, but slid right back down onto the ground.

"Nadine."

" _I'm fine!_ " I spat, nearly almost yelling.

Sam was taken aback and almost frowned at me, but the twitch in his eyebrows made me realize he didn't want to.

"Sam – "

Suddenly, another explosion and a grunt from Orca. Chloe had shot another rocket at the chopper.

"Shit, Chloe!" Sam says before dashing off.

I hurry to my feet and shook my head as my eyes finally focused. I rushed after Sam who was chasing after Chloe.

"Looks' like we could grapple onto the chopper, Nadine! Come on!" Chloe explained as she dropped the RPG to pull out her grapple.

"I'll distract the other guys! You two go after the Tusk!" Sam said as him and Chloe split ways.

As I followed Chloe towards the chopper, I couldn't get most of my focus away from Sam.

 _I pissed him off again_ , I thought as I heard Chloe yell for my name, telling me to jump onto the grapple she surprisingly hooked onto the chopper.

I jumped and grabbed onto the rope before the chopper could pull up any higher as Chloe and I began to climb.

"Get ready!" Chloe yelled once we made it to the door. Suddenly, the door swings open and Orca greets us. "Oh, hi!"

Orca grabs Chloe by the shirt and pulls her into the chopper as I hurried my climb. Once I made inside the chopper, Orca had pulled out a gun. I quickly grabbed it to avoid him pulling the trigger on Chloe. We began to pull it back and forth as Chloe joined along. Soon, we twisted and turned too much to where we all swerved it towards the pilot's head and pulled the trigger.

"Oh, shit!" Chloe shouted.

The chopper flew out of control; we were crash landing. Chloe grabs hold of me and pushed me out the chopper. We hit the ground hard, hearing the chopper landing and rolling right behind us.

 **(A/N): Comment and Review! Thanks!**


	14. Wattpad Announcement

**(A/N): Not a chapter! Just a big announcement!**

I have put this announcement on most of my fanfics, but this is **NOT** an announcement about taking my fanfics to Wattpad.

I have my own books on Wattpad! ( Ashlin_Port)

If you are interested in reading about my OCs, come check out my profile! The books are ongoing and I hope you all enjoy them. You can leave me tons of feedback there as well and I normally post within one or two weeks tops because I want every chapter to be just right! It's a big step in the future I want, so I will be so happy if you guys check out my Wattpad profile! See ya there and love you all!

 **(A/N): Comment & Review! Thanks!**


	15. Chapter 12: Finale: Part 1

**(A/N): New chapter! Enjoy!**

"Don't," I said as I aimed my pistol at Orca's head. He had the Tusk in his hand and another gun only a foot away from him, crawling his way to it.

Orca stops moving and looks up at me. He sighs as he slowly raised up to lean against the burning chopper behind him while I kicked the gun away.

"Ma'am." Orca mocked. "You're looking well."

"What the hell have you done to my company?" I questioned.

"Made it profitable, for starters."

"Think that was a rhetorical question, love." Chloe spat, stepping in with her own gun in hand.

"I should have shot you back on that godforsaken island." I continued.

"I wish you had," Orca replied. "Would've spared us the sight of watching you turn tail and run."

 _You little,_ I began to think as I stepped closer to him, feeling my finger beginning to pull the trigger.

"Alright! Just," Sam interrupted, saving Orca's life by a second as he stepped between me and Chloe. "Hash your shit out on your own time, ok? Uh, Tusk, please?"

Orca gave me a quick glance before looking back at Sam. "You two? Partners?"

Sam and I gave one another a glance as it seemed he was asking the same question. It's not like we could just focus on our problems together once and for all at that moment; Chloe would have probably finished whoever was left standing. There was no point until the end of all of this. So, we were temporarily partnering.

"Either you've got a piss-poor memory or you're even more desperate than I thought." Orca teased before huffing out a weak grin. The wound in his waist was kicking his ass.

"I'm not the one reduced to hustling weapons to ragtag insurgents," I responded.

"Ah, there it is, eh? There it is, always thinking too small. You really think I would've traded this in exchange for munitions?"

I hesitated. _More competition_ , I thought as I tighten my grip on my gun.

"I don't give a shit. Hand over the tusk!"

"Hell's bells. You're gonna' miss the fireworks, man." Orca laughed before pointing at the train heading towards town.

"I won't ask twice."

"Fine." Orca sighs before giving me one last look. "Catch!"

Suddenly, he tossed the Tusk aside and yanked out a gun from his back holster.

"Gun!" Sam yelled out.

Orca quickly grinned and fired the pistol at Sam as he leaped for me. I heard a groan in my ear as him and I hit the ground.

"Chloe! Kill him!" I yelled while Chloe was already on it.

Chloe shot two bullets in Orca's head, killing him during the first.

"Shit! Is Sam alright?" Chloe asked as she looked over at us.

I heard Sam collapse behind me while I quickly spun around to check on him. I lifted his shirt and found a deep gash that didn't seem to be fatal. I sighed.

"He'll be alright," I answered as I grabbed one of the sleeves from Sam's shirt and ripped just enough cloth to wrap his wound.

I looked into Sam's eyes, noticing he was already looking right back at me. We were saying thanks to one another. I looked back down at his wrapped wound, trying to cover a smile.

"Can you stand?" I asked him, dropping my smile before eyeing him again.

"I think so, yeah," Sam answered as he tried to sit up.

I saw the clench on his cheeks as he tired, so I grabbed his hands and helped him up. Sam clenches his teeth even more until I threw his arm over my shoulder. I was able to feel him rest his body against me as he held onto his wound with his free hand.

"It's a bomb." Chloe suddenly says.

I looked over at her, seeing her focused on some blueprints.

"What?" Sam sighs, trying to handle some pain swelling up in his wound.

"Asav traded the Tusk for a bomb," Chloe explained as she walked towards me to hand me the blueprints.

"Fireworks…" I muttered, remembering what Orca said as Sam slowly raised up to his height.

"This…this is big." I heard Sam say.

"Yeah," Chloe responded before she found the Tusk and examined it. "Those tracks run right through the city; through the market."

I looked up at Chloe and met her eyes. She wanted to stop that train.

"So, we'll find the nearest town and notify the authorities," I responded.

"It'll be too late. If that goes off, it'll kill thousands."

Chloe stepped away from me and Sam, allowing the thought of seeing a bomb blow away an entire town within a blink of an eye soak in our heads.

"And, that is a terrible shame, but we did get what we came for." Sam included as he slowly raised off me to handle himself.

Chloe glared at him before rolling her eyes and walking away. Then, I watched her pick up an SMG.

"You're not seriously going after that train," I said as I slapped the blueprint on Sam's chest. He coughed up a bit of pain before grabbing it as I stepped up to Chloe.

Chloe hands me the Tusk before walking away to find some ammo.

"Okay, fine." I continued. "Fine, you have a plan?"

"Doesn't seem to be much of a requirement in this organization," Sam muttered behind me.

I faced him, frowning. I wanted to go for his gut again, but he was in the most pain out of all three of us. So, I calmed a bit of my nerve and opened my mouth.

"Are you really going to let her do this?" I asked him.

"No, I'm –"

Then, Sam suddenly paused. I don't know if it was the thought of allowing Chloe to go on a suicide mission or his wound was burning again.

"I mean she's got a…valid point…"

 _You're with her on this_ , I thought.

"Shit, I don't know, okay?" Sam continued, making me realize I reacted to his answer.

I rolled my eyes and walked back to Chloe.

"This is not our fight," I told her while pointing a finger. "You said so yourself. Even if you catch that train, what happens? Disarming the bomb is impossible."

"You're right," Chloe replied.

I hesitated. _That was easier than expected_ , I thought.

"Good. Good, so we'll call the authorities and –"

"This isn't our fight. It's _my_ fight."

 _Her fight_ , I thought.

"That bomb detonates in the city, it'll spark civil war. I can't walk away. I'm tired of walking away."

I stared at her for a few seconds.

"You'll die," I croaked.

"I can live with that." Chloe grins. "Save my share of the Tusk, 'kay? Just in case, right?"

She hurries off, not doing her best at covering her emotions as I stood there, staring at the Tusk. I kept thinking about the entire job we just went through together and realized I couldn't just let her do another by herself. I didn't want to lose my partner and maybe even a friend at this point. But I kept thinking was Chloe and a town of thousands worth my life?

I heard Chloe get into the car. Then, I heard another door opening and closing. That meant Sam was going with her. The two kept arguing about Sam's wound and his only excuse was that he wanted to avoid me.

 _Didn't seem like he wanted to back in the cave_ , I thought almost breaking into a smile.

I looked over at the car before running and jumping into the backseat. Chloe and Sam looked back at me in shock as I pretended to be focused on the Tusk. Then, I made eye contact.

"…What?" I asked them before Chloe rolled her eyes with a smile to the front. Then, she cranked up the car. As for Sam, he stared at me for a second longer before he turned his back on me.

 **(A/N): Comment and Review! Also, check out my Wattpad: Ashlin_Port**


	16. Chapter 13: Finale: Part 2

**(A/N): Hey everyone! Back with a new chapter! Enjoy!**

Chloe drove the car off the hill to hurry after the train, making me clench onto the car for dear life.

"Follow the bridge!" I said as she drove through a tunnel that used to be an old shed.

"Anyone see a road, anywhere?" Sam asked.

"I make my own roads!" Chloe answered.

"Well, keep your eyes on your own road, then."

"Hey, Sam, did you want to drive?"

"I mean, kinda."

"Too bad. Buckle up, buttercup."

I was grinning in the backseat, keeping my eye on the train.

Chloe kept driving through more sheds. At this point, I think she was driving through them on purpose.

"Glad this isn't my car," I say, tightening my grip onto the side bars of the car.

"Shit! Motorbikes!" Sam pointed out as he pulled out his pistol and began to fire.

I looked over my shoulder and caught one sneaking up behind us. I duck just in time before the rebel took a shot at me. I pulled out my own pistol and shot him, making him fly off his bike. I looked around, seeing two more on my left.

"Run them off the road!" I yelled, taking down one of the bikes as the other came closer towards us.

There were two men. One of them had taken a jump for the car and made it. He began to climb for Chloe.

"Hey, no one rides for free!" She says, grabbing Sam's attention.

Sam shot down the rebel. The body slid off and under the car as Chloe continued to drive. As Sam and I continued to shoot, Chloe started to gain chances on ramming the car into the bikes. Every bike she crashed into, nearly had me fall out of the car.

"Out of my way!" Chloe yelled.

"There! I see the train, we're gaining on it!" Sam said as he grabbed hold of another rebel holding onto the car and shoved him off.

I looked ahead and saw the bridge nearly beside us. Chloe rammed the car into the last two bikes before she pressed harder on the gas to get beside the train.

"Sam, take care of the Tusk!" Chloe says as she pulls out the artifact from her back pocket, handing it to Sam as she drove the car with her other hand.

"Don't you worry!" Sam responded.

"Get closer to the train, so I can jump aboard!" I told Chloe as I slid my pistol back into my holster.

"You got it!" Chloe responded before turning the wheel to push the car closer to the train.

I took a step on the edge of the car before taking a jump for a cart. I made it, climbing inside.

"Come on, Chloe! I'll pull you aboard!"

I watched Sam grab hold onto the wheel.

"I got it! Go!" He says.

Chloe nods before climbing towards the backseats to take the jump for the train. She caught it, but almost slid off. If I wasn't there to grab her, she would have fallen. I pulled her up and inside the cart.

"Go get 'em, ladies!" Sam yelled as he drove off into another direction. "Oh, shit!"

He almost crashed the car against the rail. I turned to look at him, smiling.

"Think he'll be alright?" I asked Chloe.

She glanced at me before heading towards the front of the train.

"Didn't know you cared." She responded, climbing to the top of the cart.

"Well, he's got the Tusk."

"Right, that's it."

There was a pause.

"What?" I asked her once I made it to the top of the train with her.

Chloe stops running to look back at me.

"Um, well, I overheard your little conversation earlier; About Sam loving you," Chloe admitted, continuing forward.

"Chloe."

"Mm-hm?"

"What all did you hear?"

Chloe stopped moving and faced me again.

"He sounded like he really wanted another chance." She answered, staring at me.

"Oh, God." I spat as I rolled my eyes and pushed passed her. "He's never getting that chance. I knew it from the start that I shouldn't have given him any chances. He's a damn womanizer and I fell for it on the job."

I heard Chloe sigh over the noises of the train.

"Nadine."

"The bomb's near the engine."

Chloe took the hint and followed behind me.

"Right. That's our next stop, then."

We continued pushing forward. It wasn't much of a hassle moving through the carts, but it wasn't long until we finally found a few rebels scouting the train.

"We still have the element of surprise," I told Chloe as she climbed onto the roof of the next cart.

And, I was right. Chloe and I took down quite a few, easily sneaking closer to the engine of the train. I even overheard one of the men saying it wasn't worth it looking for us anymore. Though, while Chloe was trying to tackle down an armored Shoreline, she was caught by another man. I had to fire before he did, starting the fight to the engine.

It took longer than I thought. We were getting shot at by motorbikes, trucks, cars, and more armored men with machine guns. I was beginning to wonder why we lasted so long. Once making it to a dead-end on the train, we had to start jumping for the cars and trucks to move up onto the next carts of the train. Constant bullets, continuous men driving on both sides on the train, and many grenades Chloe and I had to throw.

We thought we were on our last few Shoreline and rebels, but a truck charged by with a mounted machine gun, keeping us at bay.

"Shit!" Chloe shouted.

"We need to hijack that truck!" I shouted back.

"You got it!"

Then, as if on cue, another car came driving through beside us. Chloe took the jump for it and quickly took out the driver and kicked the passenger out as well. I jumped into the back as she hit the gas towards the mounted gun, using the wheel as cover.

"Get us closer so I can jump aboard!" I told her.

After a few attempts of getting closer to the truck, I finally made it on, but the gunner realized I was trying to climb aboard and began firing at me.

 _Shit_ , I thought as I hanged onto the back of the truck.

"Chloe, come on!" I yelled.

I began waiting for a thump against the truck due to Chloe catching onto it, but all I heard was the bullets banging against the truck instead. I looked back at the car Chloe and I was in and noticed Chloe sliding across the ground, holding onto her grappling hook that was connected on the truck.

 _Shit, Chloe_ , I thought before looking back at the gunner and began to climb onto the truck.

I finally climbed inside, behind the gunner, and grabbed onto him. He was still pulling at the trigger, allowing the machine to spray everywhere as I noticed Chloe finally climbing in with us.

"Shoot him!" I yelled at her and she didn't hesitate to do so.

I dropped the dead man and looked back at the train while Chloe grabbed hold of the mounted gun. There were more men coming and I was glad we had the machine gun on our side.

"More vehicles coming, on the other side!" I told Chloe as I headed for cover. "Need me to take the gun?"

"Nope!" Chloe answered, clearing having fun with the mounted gun.

"But, I want to shoot the big gun!"

I saw Chloe smile.

"Maybe next time!" She shouts over the spray of bullets coming from the machine gun.

It didn't take Chloe long to take out the reinforcements and the big man shooting back with another machine gun within the train. Then, an explosion went off on one of the train carts, breaking the connection between the carts and the engine.

"Holy shit. Did we do that?" I asked Chloe as I stood up from my cover.

"Yeah, we did!" Chloe exclaimed as she stepped off the machine gun.

I hurried to the front of the truck and readied myself to jump for the last few standing carts that lead to the engine.

"This truck's on its last legs!" I told Chloe.

"We need to bail – now!" She answered right behind me.

I took the jump for the cart and made, hearing Chloe's feet land just a few seconds after.

"God. Whose stupid idea was this?" Chloe asked while hurrying into the train carts.

"Yours," I answered, running right behind her.

"Right."

I rolled my eyes.

"Trading the Tusk for a bomb…commandeering a train…must've taken Asav months to plan this." I continued.

"Making it all the sweeter when we bollocks it all up," Chloe replied while I heard a grin in that comment.

Then, we finally made it to the engine cart, putting all our strength on the door of the cart and finding the bomb inside.

"Whoa! It's way bigger in person." Chloe sighs.

"Well, it's military grade, all right," I responded.

It was odd, I wasn't out of breath from dealing with Shoreline and the rebels, I was out of breath of how big that bomb was. It was about the size of a baby elephant.

"Here, help me!" Chloe says as she rushes over to pull the straps off.

I do the same, but the straps wouldn't budge.

"It's too heavy!" I tell her.

"You can't disarm it?"

"It'd detonate if I tried!"

"All right, Plan B, then. Let's get to the engine."

We headed to the head of the train, finding the door to the engine was welded shut. Chloe was getting frustrated as she hurried to the roof of the cart to try to open the roof hatch, but it was welded as well.

"There must be another way." I sighed.

"If you've got any ideas, I'm all ears," Chloe replied.

I kept looking around, finding anything that could open the doors, or even stop the train itself Then, I noticed something further down the tracks.

"A switch!" I shouted.

"What?" Chloe asked.

I pointed ahead.

"Up ahead – a switch house," I answered. "If we can get to it, we can divert the train, buy us some time!"

"All right, sounds good."

Suddenly, a few bullets flew passed by my face before I heard guns firing at the end of the train.

"Oh, shit!" I spat as Chloe and I took cover.

"We need a ride!" Chloe says as she begins to take fire at the men.

I looked around the train, trying to find another jeep. Luckily, one drove up to our left side.

"We got one! Jump on!" I shouted while taking the leap for the jeep.

I quickly grabbed the head of the driver and slammed his face into the wheel before tossing him over. I hurried into the driver's seat and looked up at Chloe. She was still on the train, shooting.

"Chloe, jump!" I yelled as I drove the jeep closer to her, so her jump could be a lot easier.

Chloe looked at me as she hurried for the edge of the train to jump, but one of the men grabbed her by her ponytail before she could.

"Chloe!"

"Get to the switch house!" Chloe yelled before elbowing the man in the gut. He drops her hair, giving her the chance to push him off the train. Then, she regained cover and began to shoot as the train headed into a tunnel.

"Shit!" I say as I hit the gas for the switch house.

 **(A/N): Comment & Review! Also, check out my Wattpad! (ashlinport) Thanks!**


	17. Chapter 14: Finale: Part 3

**(A/N): Final Chapter, but there will be an epilogue coming out real soon!**

 _Don't be stupid, Chloe_ , I thought with my jeep at one-hundred miles per hour. I knew Chloe could handle herself for now, but with that many men shooting at her on a moving train is not something she could deal with for so long. I had to get to that switch house.

I was being chased down by more men; bikers were on my rear-end. I had no chance to take out my gun, so all I had was the cover of my own car. I was screwed. So, I started to ram into any bike that got near me, getting them to smash themselves into boulders or ram into the bikers so hard that they'll take flight and crash land into their deaths.

I wasn't scared, but nervous. I knew it wasn't just my adrenaline pulsing through me. For some reason, I felt as if I was about to die. It was too good to be true that I've lasted this long and only had a few scrapes and bruises.

Suddenly, I heard a loud engine growl beside me as a jeep took flight in front of me and landed on top of a biker. The jeep took off, taking out a few other bikers.

 _Chloe_ , I thought. _She probably caught a ride_.

"Chloe!" I yelled, trying to catch up to the jeep, but the more I got closer, the more I realized it wasn't Chloe. "Sam? Shit, Sam!"

I saw Sam take a quick glance over his shoulder before driving beside me.

"Shit! Nadine! Where's Chloe?" He asked.

"She's still on the train! We need to switch the train to another track!" I answered.

"Got it!"

 _I'm glad to see Sam is still alright_ , I thought and meant it. My nervousness began to calm down just a bit as I finally saw the switch house up ahead. My body began to loosen and my grip on my wheel grew weaker. My mind kept replaying Sam clutching up from his bullet wound from earlier and I was shocked he hadn't hidden somewhere to recover. He decided to risk the bit of energy he still had to help us out and was lucky enough to still have blood flowing. I wanted to punch him for being so stupid.

Sam and I had made it to the switch house, quickly parking the jeeps and rushing to the lever. The train wasn't too far away, and the lever was too rusty to easily push it. I was clenching my teeth and pushing all my weight onto it.

 _Shit, come on_ , I thought while having a bullet fly right passed my face.

"Nadine! Get down!" I heard Sam shout.

I was so focused on the train, so focused on getting Chloe back, I never realized a whole jeep filled with Shoreline men were in front of me taking fire. Suddenly, I felt a hand grab my wrist and yank me down into cover. I found Sam with his gun out, already taking shots and downing two men. I hurried to take out my own gun, helping him finish out the rest of the men.

"Come on! The train is almost here!" I shouted over the loud bell, constantly warning us of a speeding train heading in our direction.

I ran for the lever and started to push again, not even caring if Sam wasn't helping yet. The train was too close to comfort. Finally, at the last second, we changed the course for the train, watching it nearly tip over on us. I saw Chloe trying her best to stay alive and I started to smirk as the train flew into another tunnel.

"I got to get to her." I sigh before looking at Sam who was still watching the train. He was holding onto his wound as blood already stained his shirt. "Will you be alright?"

Sam looked at me, realizing I was referring to his wound and quickly lowered his hand.

"I'm fine. Go help Chloe." He answered.

I walked up to him and leaned him against the lever.

"Hey, what are you –"

"Shut up, I'm checking it." I say as I checked the wound. The leakage had already slowed down, but it there was still a lot of blood. I covered it back up and placed my hand over it, hearing Sam trying to hide a pained grunt.

"I'm fine. You need to go after Chloe." Sam says.

"I don't want you to die either." I responded. "Not somewhere in this damn jungle alone. I can't believe you decided to help us. You needed to get out of here. We're fine. You're not, Samuel. Shit…you're so damn stupid! You need to –"

Sam pulled me into a kiss. It felt like forever. He didn't seem to pressure me for it. Sam was being sweet about it, allowing me to decide if I wanted him to back off or not. And, I didn't want him to, but Chloe was on my mind as well. She was still in danger and I was kissing a dead man.

"Shit, I'm so sorry, Nadine." Sam sighed once he pulled back. "Don't worry about me, please. I'm fine. You need to – shit!"

Another jeep of men came in, taking fire. Sam and I jumped behind cover again and started shooting.

"Go after Chloe! I'm fine!" Sam yells.

I looked at him one last time before running for one of our jeeps and took off after the train.

 _Damn it, Sam_ , I thought, getting frustrated. I needed to focus and all I could think about was Sam. All my memories with him collapsed in my brain and fried it. I felt my eyes beginning to water and it wasn't because of the wind blowing in my face. I needed him to be safe, I needed him to live, and I needed him to live so I could take care of him. I wanted to help him recover, I want to hold him, and I wanted another kiss from him. Shit, I wanted him back so much. I wanted everything of him to be mine again.

I was gripping onto the wheel so hard, I was shocked it wasn't broken in pieces yet.

 _Why does he want us to be together? We tried to kill one another_ , I thought, finally seeing the train. _Shit, why do I want to be with him now?_ The only way to get onboard the train was to drive off a ledge. I stepped on the gas and took off, gliding into the train and knocking myself out.

I didn't know how long I was out once I finally came to, but the jeep was sliding out of the train cart. I hurried out of my seat and climbed for the train, making it seconds before the jeep crashed below.

Then, I get kicked in the stomach, picked up by my ponytail, dragged, and tossed into another cart. I held onto my stomach, opening my eyes, and seeing Asav giving me the death glare.

"Oh, hi. Nice to see you again." Chloe teased beside me.

I sighed.

"Shit."

We both got up as Asav stepped up to us.

"Now, I've always considered myself a patient man." Asav yelled over the train as he threw his glasses away. "But, you two are a special breed of mongrel."

"Rude." Chloe replied.

I smirked at her response.

"I'm really going to enjoy this." I say before taking the first swing for Asav.

Asav blocked as Chloe ran in to take the next swing, getting him upside the head. Asav quickly swung at me and knocked me to my feet. Chloe continued to fight, dodging more punches than I could. Something was wrong, I couldn't focus.

 _Sam_. _Did he get those men? Did he find a way out of here or is he waiting to see us? Did he bleed to death?_

I shook my head and ran for Asav. I punched at his stomach, took a punch at his face, and kicked him in his side. Asav tumbles over. Chloe and I waited for him to get back to his feet.

"You'd risk you lives? And, for what? A city of peasants?" Asav asked.

"Christ, you're insufferable." Chloe responded.

"The blood of the old kings runs through my veins. My people shall rise again."

The fight continued. More blood and sweat was spraying everywhere and I saw a dent in Asav's energy. He was getting pissed. Chloe and I continued to double team him, throwing in two attacks at once than taking turns. Asav falls over again with his face blooder than before.

"This is my land!" He yells. "What can you possibly stand to gain?"

"Oh, it's all about what you have to lose!" Chloe answered.

Asav grinned.

"The bomb? I'll just buy another. I'll burn your city, thief. Your people will beg me to save them."

Chloe and I charged at him and tied to punch him in the stomach again as I tried to kick him. Asav avoided both attacks, catching my leg and Chloe's hand. He punched Chloe in the face the moment she pulled back, staggering her, and completely grabbed hold of me, tossing me over the train.

"Nadine!" I heard Chloe call.

I caught the train at the last second, slamming against it. I grunt out the pain against my stomach while holding on to dear life. I had to take a second, trying to ignore the fact I nearly died. Then, I climbed back onto the train, finding Asav strangling Chloe to dead. I ran for them, but Asav already saw me coming. He kicked me in the stomach before tossing Chloe over this time.

"And you," Asav began to say, looking back at me. "Now you have a conscience? We could have done so much together!"

He charges at me and grabs me by the throat as well, but I was able to get away by kicking him in his dick. Shockingly, he didn't go down, but staggered back, holding onto it.

 _Shit, he's got some endurance_ , I thought as we stared at one another. _Please tell me you're alive, Chloe_.

I ran for Asav with a battle cry and went for a kick to his head, but he grabbed me in time and threw me back. I hit my head against the wall of the cart, keeping me down to recover.

"I know you." Asav continued, limping towards me. "You're no hero. My war will destabilize the government. The sheep will need their shepherd. And, you will have died in vain!"

He grabs me by the shirt and raises a fist. But, as I watched his fist rush for my face, I saw Chloe falling towards us. She readied her fist and punched Asav in the back of the head before landing beside me. We all fell into the insides of the cart where the bomb sat. Asav roared as we all stood up.

"I will die a thousand deaths before I let you win!" He shouted.

"Oh, shit!" Chloe says, ignoring Asav. "Friendly reminder – the bridge!"

I looked ahead of the train, seeing we were running out of tracks.

 _Shit, we need to end this now_ , I thought, looking back at Asav.

"Shut up and fight!" Asav screamed. And, we did just that.

Punch and kick. Punch and kick. Asav was almost down. We kept pushing him back, closer to his bomb, tiring him out. He was done for. All we needed to do was to knock him down. Chloe and I didn't give him one chance at touching us, punching him hard against the bomb.

"You ruined everything!" Asav coughs once he dropped to the ground. " _Everything_! My cleansing would have been beautiful! Why didn't you just die?!"

Suddenly, Asav smacked Chloe with a thick stick and I instantly kicked him back into the bomb. At that moment, I wanted to murder him. I continued to punch at him while he tried his best to grab hold of me, but I kept pushing him back until I saw Chloe grab hold of him, smashing his face in with constant punches.

Then, the straps that held the bomb snapped, allowing the bomb to drop on Asav's back. He screams in pain; the bomb had crushed one of his legs.

"We're done here." I sighed.

Asav looked up at Chloe and me as we walked away.

"You think you've won? More will rise up. Like the young king, you achieved nothing!" He spat.

Chloe suddenly stopped walking to look back at him.

"It's like you said," She begins. "Progress demands sacrifice."

"Frazer, we need to go!" I called while climbing to the top of the train.

We had run out of tracks. Chloe and I was running for our lives, with only one cart behind us that kept us steady on our toes. We already saw the back of the train, but we weren't fast enough to jump onto the tracks by ourselves. Chloe jumped off the last cart with me behind her as she threw out her grappling hook and got it on the bit of track dangling over the edge as I caught and held onto her.

The train, bomb, and Asav crashed into the river below, exploding on impact. Water and debris sprayed everywhere. We were alive and job was done.

"Holy shit." I sighed while watching the explosion as Chloe and I swung back and forth on the rope.

"Could you possibly start climbing, please." Chloe grunted.

"Jesus!" We heard someone say above us, knowing the voice.

"Oh – Sam!" Chloe called.

"All right, climb up, I got ya!" Sam responded.

I began to climb, hearing Chloe groan.

"Oh my god!" She shouts.

"It's all muscle." I teased.

"That's what they all say."

It wasn't long before Sam got us both to safety.

"How the hell did you guys get 'outta that?" Sam asked, looking back at me.

I just waved him away.

"You know, I'm just still figuring out that myself." Chloe answered as she was laying down on her stomach.

"And, uh…Asav?"

"Went down with his train." I answered, sighing.

"Yeah, well, couldn't've have happened to a nicer guy."

Sam takes out a cigarette and lights it.

"Would you look at that." He sighs, referring to the view as he pops his cigarette into his mouth.

I looked up and stared. It was absolutely breathtaking. The sun was beginning to set, the city was standing tall within the outskirts of the enormous jungle, and we got to see it all. It was wonderful.

"Wow," Chloe scoffed as I sat down beside her. Then, Sam sat down beside me. "We just did a thing."

I smile and looked down at her.

"We did." I replied as she smiled back.

"So…what's next for Nadine Ross?" Chloe asked as she readjusted to sit down. "Take back Shoreline? Conquer the weapons trade?"

For the first time in a while, I felt like I lifted something off my shoulders, and it was the stupid family business. I felt more alive and independent than ever before and it was due to loosing Shoreline. Yeah, my reputation was ruin due to it, but without Chloe helping me realize I never needed Shoreline to show who I was, I would have been crawling back to them already. I think this was my way of saying, I'm happy with what I have now and how free I am.

"I'm done with Shoreline." I told Chloe with a genuine smile. She was in shock.

"Really?" I heard Sam ask.

I turned to him, seeing him smiling at me. He wanted me to move on as well it seemed.

"Really." I nodded and sighed. "If anything, I was thinking I might give this, ah…treasure hunting racket another go. Know of any selfish dickheads who might be in need of a partner?"

"All right –"

"Not you." I spat, interrupting Sam.

"Okay."

I turn to Chloe.

"Ah, sorry, I only work with professionals." She says and we both laughed.

"Right."

Then, I realized. After all that train chasing, we were forgetting the one reason we came to this damn jungle.

"Hey, where's the Tusk?" I asked the both of them.

"You got –" Sam began to say, but stopped to check his person.

 _Shit, we did leave it with him_ , I thought, watching him nervously.

He looks back me, terrified.

"Oh my god…"

"Wha –"

"Sam," Chloe called.

"I'm just joking," Sam says as he pulled out the Tusk from his back pocket. "There you go. Your face – OW! Okay. Jesus."

I ended up punching Sam's shoulder for his stupid prank.

"That was my last cigarette." He says as I made sure the Tusk was ok, but I laughed at him while he watched his cigarette fall into the jungle.

I looked back at the Tusk of Ganesh to examine it once again.

"Man, that's a beauty." Chloe says.

"Ja." I responded with a smile.

"How much ah…how much you think that we're 'gonna get for that baby?" Sam asked Chloe.

"Well…surely the Ministry of Culture will give us a…generous finder's fee." She answered as Sam and I both smiled at her. "Right? Partner?"

I raised my hand up for a high-five. Chloe rolled her eyes and gave me a high-five, making me laugh.

"You guys are hilarious. The Ministry of Culture…" Sam laughed. We both looked at him, making him realize Chloe was telling the truth. "Oh my god, you're serious."

 **(A/N): Comment & Review! Also,** **check out my Wattpad! (ashlinport) Thanks!**


	18. Epilogue

After getting the Tusk of Ganesh and killing Asav before he killed thousands of innocent people, the three of us, finally made it back to our hotels. I had taken at least five showers as Chloe got a doctor to temporarily stitch up Sam's wound. She told me after the doctor left and Sam left to his hotel room that she's be in the market with the little girl she told me about before, saying she owed her pizza. I nodded, still not believing in this little girl I still think she used as her excuse on being late to meet with me when we first met.

"Just bring me some pizza back." I tell her.

"No promises." Chloe replied with a wink before exiting the hotel.

I kept staring at the hotel doors in the dim lit room where the check-in counter was at. It was almost midnight, and something kept bothering me. I knew it wasn't about the Tusk, about Asav, or even Shoreline. So, I stepped into the elevator behind me and pressed the button for my room floor. Something was still bugging me, nudging the back of my head. I wanted to go to bed, finally rest in a soft bed, but I still couldn't figure out what I was trying to think about.

I sighed and cracked my neck to relax myself. My hair was in curls again as I wore a white cotton t-shirt and some blue pajama shorts. Once I made it to my floor, I forced myself to ignore whatever was trying to gain my attention and focused on the night's rest I was going to have.

I walked passed Sam's hotel room and suddenly froze. I now know what's on my mind.

 _Sam_ , I thought, remembering our kiss.

My chest began to ache. I looked over my shoulder at his room's door and bit my bottom lip. Ever since we made it back to the hotel, I've finally noticed we've been avoiding one another.

I stepped over to his door and was about to knock before I caught myself.

 _What am I doing_ , I thought.

I knew what I was doing. I had already decided back when we kissed, I wanted him back, but I didn't know how I was going to tell him that without seeming so desperate for a kiss from him again.

He was so gentle, probably even scared I might have kicked him in his dick for getting on me like that. Though, thinking about it now, I'm glad he kissed me. I'm glad he went for his only chance on getting me back. I'm glad I didn't kill him a few months ago. We had so much going on between us, we just cracked under pressure. So, maybe…

I heard a shower turn off as I knocked on the door.

 _Shit_ , I thought. _Please don't be shirtless, please don't be –_

"Just a sec!" I heard Sam call.

I heard a few heavy footsteps within the room and finally the door handle wiggling. Then, Sam revealed himself…shirtless as he dried off his hair. Dripping wet Sam Drake back at the rail yard dropped itself back into my head. I hurried to look dead in his brown eyes.

I knew Sam was pretty tone during our previous relationship and I always thought that part of him was attractive even if I wanted to murder him.

"Hey." He says.

I heavily sigh before pushing him deeper into his room and closing the door behind us.

"Woah, okay. This is pretty straight-forward, even for me." Sam grinned as he dropped his towel on the floor. I'm glad he was already wearing his pajama pants. I might have looked down.

"Shut up. I'm here about your wound." I responded, already beginning to check the stitches.

"Doc gave me some pain meds, though it's still sore."

The wound was over his original scar back when he was in Panama Jail, crossing out two of the bullet scars. I rubbed my hand against the third for a split second before stepping back from him.

"You're here for another reason, Nadine." Sam muttered. I knew he was staring at me, so I avoided eye contact, staring at his chest. "Do you want to talk about it? I'm all ears."

Sam steps away and sits on his bed. I still wasn't looking at him, but finally raised my head and stared at the only window in his room. The blue curtains were closed and swaying a little due to the ceiling fan.

"I'm not here for some invitation you're trying to pull here." I replied.

"Honestly, I thought you were doing that when you pushed yourself into my room. It was kind of hot."

I was getting frustrated and rolled my eyes at him. Sam wasn't showing any amusement; he was only staring back at me. I faced him and crossed my arms.

"If you're not here to talk about us. Then, there was no reason for you to be here besides your excuse to check my wound." Sam continued as he stood up from his seat and walked over towards his mini fridge. He pulls out a beer and pops it open.

"Don't." I accidently blurted out. The bottle was at his lips. "I-I don't want to taste beer if I decide to kiss you."

Sam scoffs before setting the beer bottle on top of the fridge.

"I understand, Nadine. That kiss was stupid to go for. I'd just…" He begins to explain before swallowing hard. He was beginning to blush. "I'd just…you kissed me back and I was hoping by now something will happen here, but it seems you have mixed feelings and shit. I just…really, _really_ like you."

"That's also stupid to go for." I teased.

"Can you just take my genuine confessions for a sec?"

I was trying to hold back a smirk, avoiding his gaze again. I heard him step towards me and suddenly felt one of his hands gently grab my one of my wrists. I felt him towering over me without even needing to look.

"…Kiss me again." He begged.

"Sam –"

"And, again, and, again, and, again…" He started to whisper, getting softer with every repeat.

I bit my lip. I wanted to kiss him, tend to his wound, and play in his hair as he laid his head in my lap. I felt him beginning to gently push me up against his closet door. His hands were laid on my waist as I felt his breath get closer to my face. Sam did the first move, but he was waiting for me to do any others.

"Don't make me punch you." I muttered, my body heated to the very center.

"I know you won't." Sam responded.

"You're not getting anything from me."

"Sex? Of course, I won't. Not now, of course."

"Is that all you think about?"

"Depends. Are you thinking about it now?"

"Smart ass."

Sam laughs.

"…I've fallen in love with you, Nadine Ross."

My chest ached again. _He admitted it again_ , I thought while looking up at him. Sam was smiling at me, still waiting for me to do anything. He didn't seem desperate. He was smiling because he was happy to be with me like this and I loved that smile he was giving me in return.

"You're so stupid." I muttered as I leaned in to kiss him.

"Thanks." Sam responded before kissing me.

END

 **(A/N): Woah, my first finished Fanfic. I can't believe it, lol. Anyway, I hoped you all enjoyed it to the very and thanks soooooo much for reading it! Check out my other fanfics as well and also my Wattpad (ashlinport) Thanks again!**


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